Unique Learning System review
March 03, 2026

Unique Learning System review

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Unique Learning System

Our district uses Unique for its self-contained, low-incidence program for students with significant disabilities who need a significantly modified curriculum tied to the Common Core Essential Elements. My specific classroom is made up of 11 students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities in 3rd-5th grade. We use Unique in both our ELA and math instruction as our primary curriculum, though we do supplement with other materials tied to IEP goals or areas of need. We use the Benchmarks to track long-term progress as well.

Pros

  • The benchmarks are well designed to level kids and track progress on key skills over time.
  • The leveling system works well at differentiating work for students at different levels.
  • A consistent format of activities across units helps kids be familiar with the structure and focus on the content.

Cons

  • The existing math courses are really nice, but they really need to be expanded to cover more skill areas. There is a separate math curriculum available, but since ULS bills itself as a full curriculum, key content should not be locked behind additional subscriptions.
  • We used to be able to track skills for individual students, but that is no longer available, though it may be part of Polaris; again, that locks key functionality behind a paywall. The ability to track skills for students is key in monitoring progress toward IEP goals.
  • It is hard to see scores on individual assignments easily. You have to go student by student to see how they did and there is no way to see how everyone did on a single assignment at once, which makes it hard to transfer scores to gradebook.
  • Provided a standardized curriculum to use with the self-contained, low-incidence population across a district, and allows student tracking to transfer between teachers and schools.
Some of it is great, but I hate how many separate subscriptions you have to have in order to fully use all of the pieces. It really can't be touted as an "all-in-one solution" when progress monitoring, expanded math curriculum, IEP development, SEL learning, and the picture library are all locked behind separate subscriptions that most districts aren't willing to pay for and/or don't understand the need for. It would be better to give access to all of these things under the Unique umbrella and make it a truly "all-in-one" product.
The benchmarks have allowed me to track specific skills over time, which has helped in my IEP development. I wish I could track the skills outside of the benchmark tests, but even just doing BOY, MOY, and EOY assessments has allowed me to get a better picture of where my students are and where their areas of both growth and struggle are.
As a long-time user, I am familiar enough with it to navigate pretty well, but I know a lot of people jumping into it for the first time have a hard time with it. There are still a lot of things in odd places, and people are always having to ask how to find specific tools or assessments.

Do you think Unique Learning System delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Unique Learning System's feature set?

Yes

Did Unique Learning System live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Unique Learning System go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Unique Learning System again?

Yes

It's good for kids who need a significantly modified curriculum but still have some academic skills. Kids with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities do well with it, as do kids on the spectrum who also have cognitive impairments. It is not as appropriate for kids with learning disabilities or kids on the spectrum without intellectual disabilities. It is also not always the best fit for kids who are very low, such as those with severe and profound intellectual disabilities, who need a higher level of modification and sensory engagement.

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