PowerSchool Unified Classroom Special Programs vs Renaissance Accelerated Reader

• It provides all the documents necessary for supporting federal and state laws in regards to the special education program.
• Extremely effective in helping to meet reporting standards for students. Teachers that fall behind on deadlines or timelines are given reminders and provided with processes to monitor progress and reporting.
• Case management is easy, which leads to 100% compliance. This is important because the best strength is that this platform helps to increase funding by meeting all requirements of the Fed and State.
• An additional strength is the collaborative potential it offers. The platform offers student portals to let staff access all resources on demand.

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• If used correctly, Accelerated Reader helps students grow with their reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. I advise teachers to have one on one conversations with students when setting goals (allow students to have input) so that the students are given more responsibility to achieve their own goals.
• Renaissance's online chat/customer service is outstanding. They can usually answer my questions and do so in an understandable manner. They seem to be willing to help and will follow through if necessary.
• There are many reports that Accelerated Reader administrators can use to help decipher the data created from their students taking Accelerated Reader quizzes.

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• In terms of improvement, the interface is extremely ugly and simple in design, color and icon design. The platform needs to have a much more interactive and appealing interface so that use is more comfortable.
• For parents, their side of the platform has a lot of options. That needs to be simplified. I think less and more drop downs within the key menus would help.
• The disability codes are very lengthy. Perhaps there are easier or faster ways to access subsections to select.

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• It was helpful--and quicker--when my students were able to log in to Accelerated Reader through the iPad app. Unfortunately, the app is not going to be supported. My students will still be able to use the iPad for quizzing and STAR assessments. It is just a couple of extra steps.

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• There is also a positive impact on ROI for the school. Utilizing this software provides the school with the ability to increase the potential it receives in Title 1 funding. Title 1 funding is a major source of funding for inner-city schools in particular.
• Normally, the IEP and tracking process is lengthy, filled with paper, and often takes more time than necessary. Utilizing this software speeds up the process and provides clear requirements to be met, which reduces the number of questions and confusing meetings or papers left in teacher mailboxes.
• I have not experienced a negative return on investment with the software, because, without it, the paper trail would be too lengthy and the process would be much more convoluted, with long meetings, long sheets of paperwork, and missed deadlines due to a lack of clear collaboration.

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• The positive impact is that educators are showing interest in learning more about RAR.
• The negative impact would be that there's not enough time to utilize one program with time always being an issue.
• Access at home is an issue...host address is hard to find.

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