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Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Overview

What is Renaissance Accelerated Reader?

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…

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Recent Reviews

Great program

9 out of 10
April 09, 2024
In the school district that I work with we used Renaissance Accelerated Reader by empowering our student for the love of reading. It is …
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TrustRadius Insights

Renaissance Accelerated Reader has a wide range of use cases in educational settings. Teachers and students across various grade levels …
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AR Works!

10 out of 10
November 16, 2023
My school uses Renaissance Accelerated Reader 360 to help students learn to and love to read. It is perfect for providing a touch of …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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What is Renaissance Accelerated Reader?

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…

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Product Details

What is Renaissance Accelerated Reader?

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 accountable for their learning. Dashboards and reporting provide users with the insights necessary to identify quickly which students need more support, which skills each student is ready to learn, and which resources will cultivate proven growth.

According to the vendor, key benefits include:

  • Students are nearly twice as likely to be college and career ready with they practice with Renaissance Accelerated Reader.
  • A strong research base of 178 scientific studies and review backs Renaissance Accelerated Reader, which ensures that you have scientifically sound practice and reliable data for instructional decisions.
  • The Council of Administrators of Special Education endorses Renaissance Accelerated Reader for improving outcomes for students with disabilities.

Renaissance Accelerated Reader Competitors

Renaissance Accelerated Reader Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationMobile Web

Frequently Asked Questions

ReadnQuiz, Whooo's Reading, and LightSail Education are common alternatives for Renaissance Accelerated Reader.

Reviewers rate Usability highest, with a score of 9.1.

The most common users of Renaissance Accelerated Reader are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(84)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Renaissance Accelerated Reader has a wide range of use cases in educational settings. Teachers and students across various grade levels use the software to promote independent reading, improve reading skills, and track progress. With its comprehensive tracking features, Renaissance Accelerated Reader allows teachers to monitor student reading practice and growth, providing standardized data that can be shared with other support personnel. This data-driven approach helps identify specific areas of challenge for individual students and guides discussions about their progress.

In addition to fostering a love for reading, Renaissance Accelerated Reader motivates students to read independently by allowing them to earn points and incentives. The software offers a vast collection of books that students love, with new additions being made regularly. It is often used as a tool to ensure that students are reading appropriate and challenging materials while checking comprehension skills. By setting goals and holding students accountable for their comprehension, teachers can effectively differentiate instruction based on individual needs. The program's user-friendly interface empowers students to take ownership of their learning and continually grow and improve as readers. Overall, Renaissance Accelerated Reader has become an invaluable resource for motivating and engaging students while using data to guide their growth as readers.

Users have made several common recommendations for Renaissance Accelerated Reader based on their experiences.

One recommendation is to utilize the program for data-driven instruction. Many users have found that Renaissance Accelerated Reader provides valuable statistics and data for teachers. This allows them to align their lessons with student needs and track progress effectively. By using the program, teachers can make informed decisions about which skills to focus on and tailor instruction accordingly.

Another recommendation is to take advantage of time-saving features. Users have noted that Renaissance Accelerated Reader frees up time for instruction. The program's automated assessment and grading system eliminates the need for manual grading, enabling teachers to devote more time to teaching. This efficiency is particularly beneficial in a busy classroom environment where teachers often face constraints on time.

A third recommendation is to enhance student engagement and motivation. Several users have mentioned that Renaissance Accelerated Reader increases student excitement about reading. The program offers rewards and incentives such as badges and points that motivate students to read more books. This gamification aspect has proven effective in encouraging reluctant readers and promoting a positive reading culture in the classroom.

In addition to these recommendations, users also suggest joining the Renaissance Royals program for tips and support. This program provides educators with resources, professional development opportunities, and a community of fellow educators to exchange ideas and best practices.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-2 of 2)
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Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use AR with my students to discover their reading levels and track both their comprehension and a reading activity. The problems are motivating students to read at home. I supplement the program with incentive prizes that I purchase. The addition of the goal setting and the moving rocket has really added to my students' excitement. I like how students can track their progress through the rocket and completed work. I wish that my/on better paired with AR so my non-readers could have access to books in their AR level. Both the STAR and Early Literacy tests do not address the leveling of students significantly below grade level.
  • STAR tests in accurate in leveling students.
  • The moving rocket for goals motivates students.
  • The leveling of books is helpful.
  • The webpage with the five kinds of assessment was so confusing for my students. Four of the boxes were blue and one was orange. You recently added a colored tip, which is somewhat helpful. I wish the graphics were more unique and engaging.
  • Work on the usability of my/on and better pairing it with AR
  • Generate AR tests more quickly when new books come out.
Ren Place AR works for readers, not so much for early readers and pre-readers. This can be a challenge when you're teaching a grade level where reading is an expectation but some students come in without the skills. While everyone else is doing AR, finding ways to engage the struggling readers adds a burden onto teachers.
  • STAR test
  • AR goals and monitoring
  • AR leveling
  • students are progressing
  • students are motivated
  • students are taking charge of their own learning
Epic's collection of books is far superior to Ren Place's my/on. Epic is more user friendly and visually engaging.
1000
Our staff and students use Ren Place to track reading levels and points.
1
Our IT support do not help us with Ren Place. Our Media Clerk sets the trimesters each year for goal setting but the rest is up to us.
  • finding books
  • reading books
  • testing on books.
  • setting goals
  • awards prizes for goals met
  • we use point dog tags as rewards for meeting point benchmarks
  • we also have a 100 point AR party at the end of the school year
It is such an excellent program for encouraging reading and promoting reading growth.
No
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Prior Experience with the Product
I've used Ren Place for AR reading for years. It is consistently great.
No
  • Implemented in-house
No
  • no training for staff
  • huge changes to the platform
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.
  • no training
NO!
I do not know.
I do not know.
I do not know.
It used to be a 10. I could live chat with Ren Place reps. anytime I had a question. THis past year, I've had to wait on hold or get call backs at inconvenient times. As a teacher, this isn't feasible. I have a few inflexible break times each day in which to contact for help.
Unknown.
When RenPlace made the big platform change, we received no training from our district. I relieve heavily on Ren Place's live chats to navigate myself through the myriad of changes. It was a lifeline, especially because the changes were dropped on us mid-year.
User friendly for students and staff and improving each year.
  • Students seeing their goals grow
  • lots of reports to fit any need
  • almost too many reports
  • don't like how all the icons look the same and are the same color on the student window, confusing for early readers
I've used Ren Place in K, 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5th grades with success.
Quick loading, no issues.
  • my/on
  • Epic
My/on was not user friendly. Though designed specifically to integrate with Ren Place, it did not.
Epic was not designed to integrate so it added extra steps.
  • not at this time
No at this time
None
My/on debacle.
Really work on making my/on more user-friendly like Epic. STAR test results don't even determine suggested books in my/on!
Every person I've interfaced from Ren Place has been helpful.
Same answer.
I do not know.
I do not.
Yes
NO! No training for staff and it was dropped in the middle of a busy year. It was a huge tax on teacher's time and patience.
  • improved goal setting
  • improve visual appeal
  • fewer tests
  • more Spanish reports for parents
No
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
My school system has continuously used Accelerated Reader (AR) to initially assess and monitor reading practice and progress. It is mainly used in grades K-5 presently and is dependent on individual classroom teachers. It is purchased for the entire school system. Teachers are encouraged to have data to assess students. AR helps teachers to have a well-researched computerized system to analyze current reading comprehension of materials chosen by the student. This provides standardized current data that can be shared with other support personnel (reading specialists, curriculum coordinators, media specialists).
  • Large selection of tests. This does not limit the students' choices of reading materials.
  • Computer assistance with setting goals for individual student/classroom.
  • Parent portal eases the communication process to parents.
  • Increase ways to improve reading comprehension for grades 6-12.
  • More read-to tests to support differentiated learning.
  • More training sessions for free for new and experienced users.
AR is well suited for many ELA scenarios. It is less appropriate when reading shorter nonfiction passages (science, for example). This would require group discussion, and immediate assessment after reading. This type of assessment is left to the classroom teachers since the reading material is so short (compared to the length of a chapter book or a novel). I wonder if AR could help with these types of passages.
  • Number of tests
  • Customer service/IT support
  • Ease of use of the program
  • It is difficult to bring new teachers on board without further investment in training.
  • Emphasis on programs that impact "fluency" in early grades (not reading comprehension).
  • Reading test results are focused on 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades as a group, rather than on the individual annual improvement of the student.
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.
40
Educators
2
Media Specialist
Building IT Technician
  • Data driven documents to assess reading comprehension for individual students/classrooms at any time.
  • More than adequate number of choices of tests/books at appropriate reading level for the student.
  • Ease of setup for school system to collect data.
  • Used to assess students that transfer to our school system that do not have any, or minimal, testing data in their academic record.
  • My organization could promote AR as a part of summer school programs.
I support AR everyday and every year.
No
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
I was not part of the purchasing decision, however, I was informed that the most important factor was product reputation.
The evaluation and selection process should have included teachers at all levels.
  • Implemented in-house
No
  • Training all of the educators in my building (only ELA teachers were trained.
NA
I have always received the support needed in a timely fashion.
Not part of purchasing process.
No
All of the time.
Again, I use AR all of the time.
  • Setting up classroom(s)
  • Goal setting
  • Reports
  • Communication with parents
  • NA
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