Accelerated Reader 360 Launches with Built-In Digital Nonfiction Content and Close Reading Skills Practice

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis., Nov. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, K12 assessment and learning analytics company Renaissance Learning announced the most significant evolution in the history of its flagship product with the rollout of Accelerated Reader 360 (AR 360). Used in over 37,000 schools, AR has always provided personalized, independent reading practice via comprehension quizzes taken after students read a book, and teachers have long used the program to monitor progress through ongoing data. AR 360 adds access to digital informational texts and instructional skills practice activities — greatly improving teachers' ability to meet the demands of today's college and career readiness standards without adding to an already busy day.

Through AR 360's integrated reading program, students continue their independent reading practice, while teachers now have tools to help students engage with more nonfiction texts, read more complex texts with instructional support and build skills around evidence-based reading responses. A collection of leveled nonfiction articles is searchable by topic and skill to help teachers encourage close reading and teach to standards. Every nonfiction article includes built-in instructional skills practice, including a highlight and tag activity as well as a writing prompt to take learning deeper.

A single platform and unified Reading Dashboard provide a balanced and complete solution that includes actionable insights into student reading growth. Previously, educators had to access multiple platforms and reports to get a full understanding of students' independent and instructional reading performance and growth. The Reading Dashboard combines all of this data into one view, eliminating the need to run multiple reports.

"We've seen a lot of changes happening in the classroom over the past couple of years, with the rapid adoption of technology and more rigorous standards challenging our teachers to push student achievement even higher — but one thing that has not changed is that teachers are still at the core of maximizing student success," said Jack Lynch, CEO of Renaissance Learning. "Now, with AR 360 we're providing educators with the tools to confidently address key shifts, and students will move comfortably into more complex texts and learn to strategically use technology to learn and achieve."

Accelerated Reader 360 has grown out of the nation's most widely used K12 reading software. Today, on average more than 1.9 million AR quizzes are taken and passed each school day on Renaissance Learning's servers, and students can choose from over 160,000 titles, nearly half of which are nonfiction. The resulting data is aggregated and analyzed to inform the company's annual What Kids Are Reading report, which highlights digital reading trends based on data from over 400 million books read by U.S. students in grades 1–12.

About Renaissance Learning, Inc.
Renaissance Learning is a leader of K12 assessment and learning analytics with a presence in more than one-third of U.S. schools and 60 countries around the world. By delivering deep insight into what students know, what they like and how they learn, Renaissance Learning enables educators to deliver highly differentiated and timely instruction while driving personalized student practice in reading, writing and math daily. Renaissance Learning is comprised of top researchers, educators, content-area experts, data scientists and technologists who create and perfect classroom-proven tools. 

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SOURCE Renaissance Learning

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