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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

(85)

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

(26-50 of 64)
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Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • The Accelerated Reader program is easy for students and teachers to use.
  • Accelerated Reader is so flexible and can be used with all students and all reading levels.
  • Renaissance Accelerated Reader makes monitoring student reading so manageable and easy.
  • Even though Accelerated Reader has a VERY LARGE collection of quizzes, not all books have an AR test.
  • They are always adding new quizzes to increase the quiz collection.
  • When selecting an Accelerated Reader Quiz, students often click the wrong language.
  • Some quizzes can be difficult to locate if they have the same title as many other books.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • AR promotes the love of reading.
  • AR promotes teacher/child/parent communication.
  • AR strengthens comprehension in our students.
  • Easy access for parents to print a list of the books their child has read and tested on.
February 12, 2020

Accelerated Reader 360

Kelsie Haggard | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • It tests students knowledge of books and how close they paid attention to the story.
  • It provides good data for how well a student is growing in their reading abilities.
  • It gives a good level of reading for our students and allows teachers to see what grade level they are close to.
  • I also love the recommendations of other books students could or should read next.
  • The quizzes test more details from a story versus the comprehension of the story.
December 10, 2019

Pros and Cons

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Renaissance motivates kids by keeping track of the number of words they read in each book.
  • There are features we don't use, such as the dashboard. We have found that difficult to understand.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Allows us to monitor student comprehension through quiz averages.
  • Provides reading levels from testing instrument.
  • Provides student's with access to view their individual goals and progression towards the goals.
  • Setting the student's individual book level goals should be in order by last name since all reports are done in this format, but the book level setting is currently organized by first name and does not match any of the reports.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Allows teachers to monitor independent reading.
  • Gives students the ability to track their own reading.
  • Encourages kids to read.
  • Students should be able to see their reading goals and progress in numbers.
  • The record book should have the option of a graphical matrix with quicker access to student scores on individual scores.
  • The reports are too cumbersome. I shouldn't have to scroll through 500 kids' names to get the one I want.
November 07, 2019

Accelerated Reader Rocks!

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Track student reading practice
  • Compare Book Level from STAR to actual book level from reading practice
  • Consolidated reports help to see STAR and AR levels
  • Ability to duplicate classes
  • Share AR classes with STAR so that that we don't have to make separate groups
  • Too many steps for Reports
October 07, 2019

Drop Everything and Read

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Accelerated Reader gives immediate feedback.
  • It provides clear and concise instructions.
  • Accelerated Reader provides data to assist with instructional planning.
  • I would like to see a feature that will notify the building admin that a child has reached their reading certification.
  • I would like a feature that would generate a half size sheet of paper to include a student's username and password as well as their ZPD.
  • I would like the rollover rights from year to year be given to the building admin versus the district admin.
Keyanna Kimbrough | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Renaissance allows teachers to collaborate.
  • We can gain knowledge on how to implement different strategies.
  • Teachers learn what works for certain students and what doesn't.
  • In my opinion, one thing that needs improvement, is the rewards.
  • I can't do some challenges that are linked to social media. I am not a social media person.
  • More video!
September 26, 2019

Accelerated Reader Review

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • The reports provided are helpful when tracking student growth.
  • AR helps motivate readers.
  • I would like to see some short answer questions accompany books.
  • Some features are difficult to find when setting goals.
  • I wish there was a way to track certificates printed.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Real time progress monitoring of student reading comprehension.
  • Multiple reports detailing successes and areas of struggle.
  • Amazing customer service.
  • The price for schools to use AR and STAR, especially with budgets being cut, is very high.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • I like that have a large test bank.
  • I like that the quizzes are short and very manageable for the kids.
  • I like that different books have different point values.
  • More non-fiction quizzes.
  • There are some books that I expected to be in Accelerated Reader that aren't.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Set individualized goals for students
  • Track student progress over time
  • Integrated with STAR 360 assessments to help with placement
  • It could be a little easier to find certain reports if their names were more self explanatory.
  • On some screens, it can get confusing to move back and forth between the goals and quizzes screens.
  • It would be great to have a mechanism within Renaissance Place to alert admin to remove students from your classes when they move.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Accelerated Reader helps provide students with needed practice in reading.
  • Students are motivated to read more when they see themselves making progress and approaching their goals.
  • The wide variety of quizzes available provides books on everyone's level and interests.
  • Some quizzes have words in the questions and answer choices that are above the level of the book they've read.
April 14, 2019

Reading Magic

Renee Graham | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Provides data used to drive instruction. I can easily see who is reading, at what level (above or below their ability) and if they are comprehending what they read.
  • Allows students to choose books they are interested in. Almost every book I've ever searched for has an AR test.
  • Shows students progress toward goals and allows them to monitor it daily.
  • Encourages students to grow
  • Teaches students what they are capable of
  • Increases reading stamina
  • Includes parents in praising students by providing info on each and every test to parents in real time.
  • Keeps parents informed when they sign up for HomeConnect.
  • Provides teachers with small group instruction when using the reports available.
  • It would be nice if students could stop Accelerated Reader tests without a teacher's password.
  • I'd like for students to know the percent of their goal reached, even after they reach 100%. For example, when they are at 125% of goal. That's why I am glad it now shows this info when students test.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • It allows teachers to have data on the growth the students make in reading independently.
  • Other departments also use the STAR Program to give them data on each students' book levels.
  • As a school, we promote the program with our teachers and students.
  • I love the way it is so user-friendly, and the fact that teachers have an opportunity to live chat in order to ask for help at any time.
  • As a librarian, the program allows us to generate data for teachers to use in their classes.
  • I would love to see more incentives for the schools to receive after achieving their goals.
  • I think it could add emojis to the test questions to make it more interesting.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • I like how Accelerated Reader now offers nonfiction articles.
  • I like how it is linked to MyOn.
  • It provides assessment for most of the books in the library.
  • Some of the questions are lower level recall questions.
  • It would be easier if MyOn and accelerated reader were linked when taking tests. The students have to open another tab instead of going directly to the website.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • 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.
  • Some quizzes seem to have multiple question sets, so that students can't look up the answers if they failed the test the first time, but I would love to see this done for all quizzes.
  • I feel like Renaissance is doing better about there being more PD available for their products, but I wish it was more readily accessible.
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