> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.learningcommons.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Organizational Structure

> Rate the structural complexity of informational texts, from chronological to cause-and-effect patterns, against grade-level reading expectations.

[Evaluator last updated August 27, 2026.](#evaluator-release-history)

<EarlyAccess isBreaking={false} />

## Overview

The Organizational Structure evaluator assesses the structural complexity of an informational text — whether its ideas are arranged in a clear, predictable sequence with explicit connections, or woven into an intricate structure that asks the reader to infer how the pieces relate.

Two texts can share the same vocabulary, sentence length, and grade-level reading score, yet place very different demands on a reader depending on how they're organized. The Organizational Structure evaluator surfaces this dimension directly, so developers can optimize prompts, match texts to instructional goals, and maintain quality at scale.

The evaluator works in 2 steps:

1. **Identify structure** – Detects the organizational pattern(s) a text uses to arrange its ideas and how explicitly it signals the connections between them

   |                               |                                                                                                      |
   | ----------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
   | Chronological                 | Events presented in time order                                                                       |
   | Sequential                    | Steps or stages presented in order                                                                   |
   | Cause-and-effect              | One or more causes linked to outcomes                                                                |
   | Compare-and-contrast          | Similarities and differences between two or more things                                              |
   | Problem-solution              | A problem framed and addressed                                                                       |
   | Discipline-specific / braided | Multiple patterns operating at once (e.g., the problem–method–results arc common in science writing) |

2. **Evaluate structural demand** – Weighs those structural demands against what students at the target grade are expected to navigate independently

## At a glance

|                      |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| :------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Inputs**           | Informational text to evaluate and grade level                                                                                                                                                                                             |
| **Supported grades** | 3–12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Rubric**           | [Student Achievement Partners (SAP)](https://learnwithsap.org/) ↗'s [Qualitative Text Complexity Rubric for Informational Text](https://learnwithsap.b-cdn.net/app/uploads/2026/04/Qualitative-Text-Complexity-Rubric-Informational.pdf) ↗ |

The evaluator was built and validated using the model and temperature below (other configurations will produce different results and may have lower accuracy):

|                  |                                                                                      |
| :--------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Model used**   | Gemini 3 Flash preview (`gemini-3-flash-preview`)                                    |
| **Temperature**  | 1                                                                                    |
| **Optimization** | Prompts tuned with DSPy using the GEPA algorithm against an expert-annotated dataset |

## Getting started

Follow the [Quickstart](/evaluators/getting-started/quickstart) to start using this evaluator:

| Access method             |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| :------------------------ | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Evaluators playground** | [View in Platform](https://platform.learningcommons.org/apps/evaluators/playground) ↗                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| **GitHub**                | [Python notebook](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/evaluators/blob/main/evals/student-facing-text/ela-reading/organizational-structure/example_notebook.ipynb) ↗<br />Prompts ([`system.txt`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/evaluators/blob/main/evals/student-facing-text/ela-reading/organizational-structure/system.txt) ↗ and [`user.txt`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/evaluators/blob/main/evals/student-facing-text/ela-reading/organizational-structure/user.txt) ↗) |

## Inputs

| Requirement     | Supported                                                                          | Required |
| :-------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------- |
| **Text**        | Informational text to evaluate<br />10 - 10,000 words (\< 1,200 words recommended) | Yes      |
| **Grade level** | Target student grade level                                                         | Yes      |

## Output

| Field                          | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| :----------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Complexity score**           | Organizational structure's complexity level:<ul><li><strong>Slightly complex</strong> - Clear and predictable, with explicit connections between ideas (e.g., signaled chronological or sequential order)</li><li><strong>Moderately complex</strong> - Mostly predictable, but some connections between ideas are left implicit or require the reader to infer a shift</li><li><strong>Very complex</strong> - Shifts between patterns without signaling the move, braids multiple structures together, or leaves the main idea distributed across the passage</li><li><strong>Exceedingly complex</strong> - Relies on multiple interacting, largely implicit patterns that the reader must reconstruct with little to no explicit signaling</li></ul> |
| **Reasoning**                  | High-level summary of why the text is at this organizational complexity level for the target grade                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| **Details**                    | Individual complexity factors driving the rating, with a description of each and its effect on the organization dimension                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| **Adjustment and scaffolding** | Analysis of what the author assumes the reader already knows versus what is explicitly explained                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| **Recommended use cases**      | Additional instructional opportunities suggested by the text's organizational profile                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |

## Evaluator release history

| Date            | Changed              |
| --------------- | -------------------- |
| August 27, 2026 | Minor prompt updates |
| July 29, 2026   | First release        |

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