PowerSchool Unified Classroom vs. Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
PowerSchool Unified Classroom
Score 6.2 out of 10
N/A
PowerSchool Unified Classroom is a learning management and classroom collaboration solution suite. It aims to empower teachers with real-time student interaction inside and outside the classroom, bringing in more social and collaborative learning. Teachers can quickly create and deliver rich engaging lessons, electronically collect, annotate, and grade work, and easily collaborate and share with other educators. Unified Classroom includes PowerSchool solutions Assessment, Gradebook, Learning,…N/A
Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
Renaissance Accelerated Reader® is designed to save educators time by empowering them with Learnalytics® to make differentiating independent and close reading practice effortless – all while maintaining the flexibility necessary to fit within existing classroom routines. Students are engaged in reading self-selected authentic books and articles. Short comprehension quizzes and built-in close reading practice activities, combined with automatic and educator feedback, keep students…N/A
Pricing
PowerSchool Unified ClassroomRenaissance Accelerated Reader
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PowerSchool Unified ClassroomRenaissance Accelerated Reader
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PowerSchool Unified ClassroomRenaissance Accelerated Reader
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
PowerSchool Unified ClassroomRenaissance Accelerated Reader
Learning Management
Comparison of Learning Management features of Product A and Product B
PowerSchool Unified Classroom
8.1
2 Ratings
1% below category average
Renaissance Accelerated Reader
-
Ratings
Course authoring9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Course catalog or library6.72 Ratings00 Ratings
Player/Portal9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning content8.32 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile friendly5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Progress tracking & certifications7.92 Ratings00 Ratings
Assignments10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning administration8.32 Ratings00 Ratings
Learning reporting & analytics8.92 Ratings00 Ratings
Social learning8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PowerSchool Unified ClassroomRenaissance Accelerated Reader
Small Businesses
Tovuti LMS
Tovuti LMS
Score 9.5 out of 10
Renaissance Star Assessments
Renaissance Star Assessments
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Sakai
Sakai
Score 8.7 out of 10
WileyPLUS
WileyPLUS
Score 9.4 out of 10
Enterprises
Intellum
Intellum
Score 9.2 out of 10
WileyPLUS
WileyPLUS
Score 9.4 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PowerSchool Unified ClassroomRenaissance Accelerated Reader
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(4 ratings)
9.7
(60 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(9 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(8 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(2 ratings)
8.9
(25 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
5.6
(6 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
6.4
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(2 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
PowerSchool Unified ClassroomRenaissance Accelerated Reader
Likelihood to Recommend
PowerSchool Group LLC
In the classroom it is very well suited. For classroom teachers, and for school systems in general. It is appropriate in this capacity because it creates a streamlined sense of communication for all stakeholders: teachers, parents, students, and administration. It makes parent meetings very easy, it makes interventions for students easy, and it helps administration keep tabs on overall progress
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Renaissance Learning
I have found Renaissance Accelerated Reader to be well-suited for elementary readers. I don't have experience using it with high school students; however, I know that for our elementary readers, there are no shortages of tests available. Our students can read trade books, articles within the program, or even stories from our textbooks and take tests on them
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Pros
PowerSchool Group LLC
  • Hand in/Hand Out Assignments
  • Standards Based Assessments
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Renaissance Learning
  • Automatically calculating ZPD ranges. Student level ranges are automatically calculated within the system to ensure that students are correctly choosing the most appropriate books for them.
  • Easy goal setting. Whether you want to set a blanket goal based on 20 minutes per day of reading time for the class, or you want to individually set goals up to an hour a day, AR makes it very easy to manage and set goals for your entire classroom. Goals can be adjusted as needed easily as well.
  • Comprehension monitoring through testing. I can easily see which students are struggling on comprehension through AR book quizzes. From student scores, I can either motivate students who are rushing through books to slow down and take time to thoroughly read, or I can help students who are possibly struggling to read harder books with specific strategies that will benefit them the most. Without the testing feature of AR, I would have a lot more work to check how students are doing on their independent reading.
  • Data that is easy to understand and share with students. From either running a report on the entire class or school to just a specific student, AR makes data tracking easy. I can share reports with students and have detailed discussions about their progress towards meeting their goals or steps to take to overcome reading challenges they are currently having.
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Cons
PowerSchool Group LLC
  • The user interface is a little blocky and not entirely user-friendly.
  • It does take more training than we'd like with new staff.
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Renaissance Learning
  • Lately, Accelerated Reader has been adding "New Reports" which would help single class users such as a teacher with one class. But for a person with administrative rights, it creates a bit of a hassle to get the information needed at times.
  • Cost - Accelerated Reader is expensive. For the price paid, I feel Renaissance should include some features instead of having additional fees paid.
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Likelihood to Renew
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Renaissance Learning
[Renaissance] Accelerated Reader is a great way to track student progress, motivate students to read, and measure their comprehension. Accelerated reader gives both teachers and students immediate feedback. There are countless options of books for students and can help increase student interest in books and improve students' reading ability.
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Usability
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Renaissance Learning
I would say that Accelerated Reader is a pretty user-friendly tool. The platform is easily used by teachers, administrators, and students of all grade levels and technical abilities. That being said, it would be nice to see some tweaks to the user interface to make it even easier for everyone to navigate.
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Reliability and Availability
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Renaissance Learning
I have not encountered any problems with availability
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Performance
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Renaissance Learning
Quick loading, no issues.
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Support Rating
PowerSchool Group LLC
They are very responsive to the issues that we have and follow through with their assistance. Having a live assist that is available when our teachers need it is essential too. They also seem to listen to suggestions on making improvements and have been transparent with us when renovations are done.
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Renaissance Learning
Renaissance Accelerated Reader is a program I have used with students for 9 years. It is so flexible and easy to use! I have seen the amazing benefits and an increase in the minutes my students read each day. I look forward to using this program next year and learning more about how it can help increase reading in our school.
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Implementation Rating
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Renaissance Learning
Extensive training on Ren Place is necessary. There are a myriad of reports that we need help understanding. I have joined Ren Royals and have learned a lot from that support piece.
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Alternatives Considered
PowerSchool Group LLC
I have used markbook and gradebook. Each system had good features that were slightly different but the fact that this one is web based and accessible makes it the best of the 3 I have used. The learning curve to using the program is similar to the other 2 and overall has allowed me to save time reporting to students and parents.
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Renaissance Learning
I have not used any of the products listed. However, AR has been my choice of product. My school system choice this product because it interfaces well with all other reading and testing programs that have been purchased. It is an excellent product, but that is a given since it was developed by a teacher to address a problem that all educators deal with (How do you help a struggling reader best?). AR is the answer for me.
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Scalability
PowerSchool Group LLC
No answers on this topic
Renaissance Learning
Because students can take tests on varying book levels.
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Return on Investment
PowerSchool Group LLC
  • Positive impact- i don't know how much it costs but every teacher spends probably 1-4 hours on powerschool every week but it streamlines communication
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Renaissance Learning
  • The goal of AR is for kids to enjoy books, spread their wings, and experience a variety of literature & genres. Children need copious amounts of reading to become good readers. Incorporating Renaissance Accelerated Reader 360 into our day sets a purpose for reading and holds children accountable.
  • Renaissance Accelerated Reader 360 is research based. The single biggest predictor of academic success is time spent reading. This program allows for that.
  • Renaissance Accelerated Reader 360 allows for scaffolding of reading material to get the kids into more challenging material. This program allows children to be successful and build on their strengths.
  • Renaissance Accelerated Reader 360 empowers students to take ownership in the learning process. It gives them a voice.
  • Renaissance Accelerated Reader 360 is a program that lets students practice and apply skills and strategies learned during mini lessons and strategy-group instruction.
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ScreenShots

PowerSchool Unified Classroom Screenshots

Screenshot of Discussion in LMSScreenshot of LMS student portalScreenshot of LMS student portfolio