Education's BFF: Renaissance Accelerated Reader
June 20, 2021
Education's BFF: Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Renaissance Accelerated Reader
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.
- 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.
Do you think Renaissance Accelerated Reader delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Renaissance Accelerated Reader's feature set?
Yes
Did Renaissance Accelerated Reader live up to sales and marketing promises?
I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process
Did implementation of Renaissance Accelerated Reader go as expected?
I wasn't involved with the implementation phase
Would you buy Renaissance Accelerated Reader again?
Yes
Using Renaissance Accelerated Reader
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.
Evaluating Renaissance Accelerated Reader and Competitors
- 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.
Renaissance Accelerated Reader Implementation
- Implemented in-house
- Training all of the educators in my building (only ELA teachers were trained.
Renaissance Accelerated Reader Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Not part of purchasing process.
All of the time.
Using Renaissance Accelerated Reader
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Setting up classroom(s)
- Goal setting
- Reports
- Communication with parents