Classtime vs. Renaissance Accelerated Reader

Suitable:

• Distance learning for formative assessment
• In-class quizzes
• Tickets out the door to check on the day's understanding
• Homework
• Grade-level common assessments
• High-stakes test prep

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

• It has three different types of engagement activities for students as they are answering questions.
• It gives immediate data that can be acted upon.
• It is easy to find materials to use in their library with their search engine.
• It is very easy to include multimedia material like images, gifs, videos, and audio files.
• The test-making interface is extremely easy to use.
• It is easy to print out data that can be used to analyze with a grade-level team or with parents.
• It has a Google, Microsoft, and Clever interface, making it easy for students to access.

• If used correctly, Accelerated Reader helps students grow with their reading comprehension and vocabulary skills. I advise teachers to have one on one conversations with students when setting goals (allow students to have input) so that the students are given more responsibility to achieve their own goals.
• Renaissance's online chat/customer service is outstanding. They can usually answer my questions and do so in an understandable manner. They seem to be willing to help and will follow through if necessary.
• There are many reports that Accelerated Reader administrators can use to help decipher the data created from their students taking Accelerated Reader quizzes.

Incentivized

• Creating Spanish reports similar to the ones accessed in English.
• Simplifying the way books students can find an AR quiz. It does not find books if students are missing a "question mark" or "exclamation mark".
• Deleting a quiz when a student enters the wrong book title and begins a quiz. It has been difficult to remove a quiz and the quiz appears even after the monitor password has been entered.

[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.

Incentivized

I give Renaissance Accelerated Reader a great 10 in usability rating. I give this rating because overall the program is very easy to use and for the most part easy to understand. I am currently in my first year working in the library and with the teachers using the Renaissance Accelerated Reader program so there is still much to learn, but it has been an overall great experience so far. All of the data is easy to read and there is so much information to look over in case anything is missed or not understood. I have so far been very happy with the Renaissance Accelerated Reader program and what it has done for the students.

I have not encountered any problems with availability

Quick loading, no issues.

Incentivized

Renaissance Reader has a great support team, and generally, they are quick to respond when needed. The live chat tool is a life-saver when trying to get your problems solved in real-time. They also have a lot of online support articles that ensure that you can get your questions answered without necessarily having to use the live chat during the school day.

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.

Incentivized

I have used Edpuzzle, Quizizz, Kahoot, Khan Academy, and Edcite. I use all of them at varying times, depending on my needs. I use Classtime more than any of them because of its versatility of question types and its engagement tools. I also appreciate the ease of making and giving out tests.

STAR assessments work well with [Renaissance] Accelerated Reader. The STAR assessment can inform students what material they will be able to comprehend and help guide teachers when they are trying to help students find books to read. STAR assessments also help teachers focus on comprehension and vocabulary skills which then lends to help students understand what they are reading and utilize [Renaissance] Accelerated Reader.

Incentivized

Because students can take tests on varying book levels.

• It has helped us during in-classroom demonstration lessons.
• It has helped us with our training on strategic thinking in math.
• It has given us an outlet to share our test creation skills, which we can model to districts.

• I have seen a positive impact using AR by allowing us to track independent reading time more effectively.
• We can analyze student data in ways that would be either too time-consuming or too difficult to track on our own.
• Student engagement has increased when students can use their ZPDs to help find books that are in a readable range for them.

Incentivized