Renaissance Learning, Inc. (Renaissance) is a software and learning analytics company that makes cloud-based, Kâ€"12 educational software. Renaissance employs about 1200 employees in nine U.S. cities and subsidiaries in Canada, the United Kingdom, Korea, and Australia. Renaissance’s products are used in U.S. schools and more than 60 countries around the world.
History
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Accelerated Reader, the company's flagship product, was created in 1985 by Judith and Terrance Paul, who founded the company in 1986 under the name "Advantage Learning Systems". Terrance, a lawyer and businessman, and Judith, a homemaker with a degree in elementary education, though she never taught school, began their software business in 1986 from the basement of their home in Port Edwards, Wisconsin. The company's name changed to "Renaissance Learning, Inc." in 2001. In August 2011, the company was sold to Permira, a European private equity firm, for a reported $455 million. In early 2014, CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) made a $40 million investment in the company at a $1 billion valuation. Later in 2014, Renaissance was sold to Hellman & Friedman for $1.1 billion. In 2016, Renaissance rebranded and dropped “Learning†from their name.
Software
Reading
Renaissance Accelerated Reader
Accelerated Reader, the company's flagship software, is "reading management software". It determines whether a student has read a book through comprehension quizzes and is computer-scored. Educators collaborate with students to set personalized reading practice goals based on their reading level. Students select books within their reading range, read independently, and then take short, computerized comprehension quizzes. After each quiz, educators and students are able to see progress toward reading goals.
Renaissance Accelerated Reader 360
In 2013, Renaissance acquired Subtext, a K12 digital reading service. Soon after, Renaissance introduced Accelerated Reader 360, a premium version of Accelerated Reader that adds nonfiction articles with embedded skills practice.
Renaissance English in a Flash
English in a Flash is a language acquisition tool for grades Kâ€"12 for use with English language learners. It aims to help students build vocabulary and grammar.
Math
Renaissance Accelerated Math
Renaissance released Accelerated Math in 1998. A math management program, it generates personalized math assignments at each student's level and scores the assignments. It also provides reports and record-keeping functions to monitor student progress and address individual student needs.
Renaissance MathFacts in a Flash
MathFacts in a Flash is software intended to enhance computational fluency (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and other math facts). It allows students to work at their own pace and provides feedback on areas of difficulty. It includes timed tests and reports of individual progress.
Assessment
Renaissance Star 360
Star 360 is a comprehensive Kâ€"12 assessment package, allowing educators to screen and group students for targeted instruction, measure student growth, predict performance on Smarter Balanced exams, and monitor achievement on Common Core State Standards. Star 360 includes Star Reading, Star Math, Star Early Literacy, and Star Custom.
Renaissance Star Reading
Released in 1996, Star Reading is a computer-adaptive reading test and database that assesses students' reading levels and provides norm-referenced reading scores for students in grades 1â€"12.
Renaissance Star Math
Star Math is a computer-adaptive math test and database, providing norm-referenced math scores for students in grades 1â€"12. It was released in 1998.
Renaissance Star Early Literacy
Released in 2000, Star Early Literacy is a computer-adaptive diagnostic assessment of literacy skills of students in grades Pre-Kâ€"3. It assesses phonemic awareness, phonics, and other readiness and literacy skills, and identifies strengths and weaknesses in these skills.
Renaissance Star Spanish
Tailored for native Spanish speakers, Star Spanish assessments for reading, math, and early literacy provide interim data that show what Spanish-speaking students know in their native language.
Renaissance Star Custom
Renaissance Star Custom is a formative assessment that allows educators to administer assessments that target specific standards and skills.
Professional Development
Renaissance-U
Renaissance offers a training for all products, and has trained more than 1 million educators. Renaissance-U works with educators to improve their implementation of their products and help develop skills that give teachers and admins the ability to use their data in more impactful ways.
Other
Renaissance Flow 360
Announced June 2017 Renaissance Flow 360 is a data interoperability platform which uses a common API adopted by partners to share data, providing more integrated assessment, planning, instruction, and practice, allowing educators to drive and monitor growth for every student in their district. Fundamental to Renaissance Flow 360 is the Renaissance Growth Allianceâ„¢, a collaboration with instructional providers.
Renaissance Growth Allianceâ„¢
Announced in 2016, the Renaissance Growth Alliance is a group of education partners which are working together to create better interoperability between their respective platforms using a common Application Programming Interface, API.
Renaissance Place
In 2004, Renaissance released Renaissance Place. An integrated web platform that combines student performance information (from school, classroom, grade, and subject) into a single management system. As of June 2017 Renaissance Place is no longer in use- its functions have been integrated within other software components.
Renaissance Home Connect
Renaissance Home Connect enables parents to view their children’s reading and math practice and progress towards goals.
Hardware
With the acquisition of AlphaSmart in 2005, Renaissance began providing educational hardware. The company's "2Know! Classroom Response System" allows teachers to use wireless technology to post questions and receive student responses. The system can use built-in assessments or educator-made assessments. The AlphaSmart machines were discontinued by Renaissance in late September 2013.
Reviews
Accelerated Reader critics say it limits a student’s recreational reading to a list of books that fall in their book level, in order to accrue "points", and the system trivializes books and undermines reading by reducing it to a competitive game. Susan Straight in the New York Times says, "the passion and serendipity of choosing a book at the library based on the subject or the cover of the first page is nearly gone, as well as the excitement of reading a book simply for pleasure."
Gary S. Stager, Ph.D., a collaborator in the MIT Media Lab's Future of Learning Group and a member of the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's Learning Team, whose doctoral research involved the creation of a high-tech alternative learning environment for incarcerated at-risk teens, says Accelerated Reader gets motivation wrong
American Library Association's journal, School Library Media Research, analyzed Accelerated Reading.
The United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences in What Works Clearinghouse, October 2008, and August 2010 found Accelerated Reader to have no discernible effects on reading fluency or comprehension for adolescent learners.
Renaissance products have been tested in studies, some conducted by third-party evaluators. Some of these studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Each November, Renaissance releases its annual What Kids Are Reading report. Using the data from Accelerated Reader and Accelerated Reader 360, What Kids Are Reading highlights the books and nonfiction articles Kâ€"12 students read cover to cover each year.
References
External links
- Renaissance Learning, Inc.
- Renaissance Learning UK Ltd., the United Kingdom website
