Renaissance® Blog
Shareable tips and insightful thoughts on K–12 education. Subscribe to the Renaissance Newsletter and get the latest posts delivered straight to your inbox.
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May 6, 2022
Our recent How Kids Are Performing report shows that students at most grade levels are making gains in both reading and math this school year. However, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact student learning, especially in the early grades. This […]
April 8, 2022
In 2020, Renaissance introduced Star CBM Reading, which assesses K–6 students’ literacy development in English. For Back-to-School 2022, we’ll release the new Star CBM Lectura to assess K–6 students’ literacy development in Spanish as well. We recently had the opportunity […]
March 11, 2022
Last summer, Renaissance released Trip Steps for Mathematics, which are essential math skills that are also disproportionately difficult for students to learn at grade level. You’ll find detailed information about math Trip Steps, including how we identified them and how […]
February 25, 2022
By Dr. Gene Kerns, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer This summer will be different than most—not only because of the ongoing disruptions to learning but because districts have plentiful funding to support their summer programs. Summer learning experiences are […]
January 21, 2022
By Dr. Gene Kerns, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer Reading is an activity that takes many forms. It’s someone lounging in a window seat, lost in a good book. It’s also someone poring over an academic paper, looking for […]
January 14, 2022
The last two years have brought many changes to K–12 education, especially around how educators interact and communicate with students and their families. You’ll find a number of new features in your Renaissance products to support greater student and family […]
December 10, 2021
By Dr. Gene Kerns, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer When we talk about literacy, we often discuss an initial phase of “learning to read,” which is then followed by a second phase, “reading to learn.” This transition often occurs […]
November 5, 2021
As we celebrate 35 years of Accelerated Reader, we recognize the importance of not only honoring the past but also looking ahead to the future. In this blog, we’ll answer some of the most common questions about how books are […]
October 22, 2021
By Dr. Gene Kerns, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer In K–12 education, we often use medical analogies to describe our assessment practices. For example, it’s common to hear the state summative test described as a “post-mortem” on the school […]
October 8, 2021
The COVID-19 disruptions have accelerated a process that was already well underway. Teaching and learning are no longer confined to brick-and-mortar classrooms and face-to-face interactions. Instead, technology allows teachers and students to connect from anywhere—and helps teachers to provide personalized, […]
September 24, 2021
By Julianne Robar, Educational Content Program Manager, and Dr. Jan Bryan, Vice President and National Education Officer If learning is a staircase, then all steps are not created equal. In math especially, some skills along the staircase are extraordinarily difficult […]
September 10, 2021
By Dr. Chastity McFarlan, Content Quality Manager As a Latina and African American woman from the New York City area, I knew the COVID-19 pandemic would have a disproportionate effect on people from my community even before the media outlets […]