uPAR™

Learn the way students comprehend text best, whether reading independently or by listening with a read aloud accommodation.

Your Launching Pad for Their Flight

With reading, some students decode well enough to understand text, others understand better when listening to content read aloud. uPAR gives you data that shows the way each student learns best—and the specific level of text that can be understood by each student when listening (with a reading accommodation) compared to independent reading.

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How it Works

1. Set up a group of students in minutes 2. Evaluate up to 30 students in one class period 3. Scoring is automatic. Reports clearly show independent reading level and reading level with accommodations.

Infographic of teachers and students smile around data that says 78% 7 of 9 Benefit from Accomodation

Data Reporting

Both individual and group data is available to educators and administrators. Summary data shows the number of students who can benefit from an accommodation and the number who don’t benefit from an accommodation. The chart breaks down the percentage who may need both accommodations and interventions or modifications and more intensive interventions. It also shows the average grade level increases achieved with human reader or text reader. Student names are color coded as a visual reference. Selecting a student name will display individual data. It shows how the student performed in each of the conditions. In the case above with Ryan Stanton, he scored 43% on comprehension quiz after reading the 5th grade reading passage independently. He scored 75% in both the adult reader and text reader conditions at his grade level (8th grade). Download or print the reports. It will automatically generate and download including one page for each student—perfect for portfolios. New! Summary reports now include all the results taken within your school, district, or organization! The summary can even be sorted by a date range.

Infographic of uPAR summary reports page

Research

Relying on subjective judgement, teachers are no better than chance at determining whether a student needs a read aloud accommodation (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2001; Helwig & Tindal, 2003). What happens when students get the wrong accommodations?   • They don’t perform as well as they should • They don’t use their accommodations because they have the wrong ones • Teachers and parents don’t agree about which accommodation the student needs   uPAR is based on the work of Dr. Denise DeCoste and Linda Bastiani Wilson, authors of the widely embraced PAR (Protocol for Accommodations in Reading). Their desire was to create a repeatable and systematic process that would not only provide concrete documentation you can use for IEP meetings, but also outline evidence-based practices you can use to make decisions about selecting a suitable reading accommodation for a student being considered.

Two separate headshots of Denise Decoste and Linda Bastiani Wilson

Leading with uPAR

Keri Huddleston smiling at the camera

“We want the methods that we are using to teach them to be based on research, and that the way we deliver those research based methods matches the needs of the learner.”

Keri Huddleston, M.A., CCC-SLP
Dark gray profile icon on light gray background

“We also strive to expose our students to different forms of assistive technology and show them the benefits of using AT for them individually. The Universal Protocol for Accommodations in Reading (uPAR) is a critical part of that conversation.”

Todd Hanson
Kelly Key smiling at the camera

“We assess [our gen. ed. and special education students] around third grade to determine the best assistive technology support for reading.”

Kelly Key, ATP, Assistive Technology Coordinator / Special Services Facilitator
Kristin Smith sits in front of classroom bulletin board during interview

“We could kind of guesstimate that I think Gavin could read at grade level or a little bit above, but uPAR was able to show us that. Yes, your guesstimation was right, but guess what? Gavin could also read up to sophomore level in high school and comprehend that text.”

Kristin Smith, AT Facilitator
Shellie Par during in classroom interview

“She quickly became the little girl who was worried that she couldn’t do it, to the little girl who said, ‘You mean I am smart?’ That was just a tremendous weight because she knew from that minute that she could do whatever she wanted to do.”

Shellie Parr, 3rd Grade Teacher

uPAR™ Pricing

Educators and parents get free access with one or more students set up.

Free paper-based version

...for one-on-one implementation

$Free/

(no credit card required)

Download the free PDF version of PAR one-on-one or automate the process with uPAR! With uPAR, IEP teams can quickly see which students benefit and which are disadvantaged by accommodations.

Access Now
Organizational

School- or District-Wide License

$0.50-2.00/student annually

(based on total student enrollment)

Per Seat licenses are also available

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FAQs

What are other districts finding with uPAR?

When the data comes out, there’s typically a lot of surprise in the room—typically quite a few students who have been receiving accommodations are shown to perform better without. Quite a few students are found who can get to or even above grade level with accommodations, and many of these students were unnecessarily getting modified materials in the classroom. uPAR turns subjective decision-making based on opinion into objective decision-making based on data.

How long does it take for students to be tested?

The uPAR process takes up to one class period (under 40 minutes). Districts are typically implementing uPAR in a lab with up to 25 students. We recommend another class period to go over the data with each student and train on accommodations for the students who need them.

My state has new requirements for proving students need accommodations on the new assessment. Will uPAR give me this information?

Most states are requiring a diagnostic process to prove that a student needs reading accommodations. This is exactly the type of data uPAR gives. You can export specific student data or print it out as proof a student needs a reading accommodation. PAR is even written into the guidance recommendations in at least one state.

Resources & Support

Get the most out of uPAR with our how-to guides, video tutorials, and more.

Product Resources Technical Support Professional Development

So many districts are doing incredible things with uPAR!

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Indian Creek Schools, IN data and accommodations have huge impact Watch the 3-minute video
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Read this article about Central Community School District
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One small bit of data made a world of difference for this Lander student
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Lawrence Township, IN makes data-driven decisions. Download this infographic (PDF).
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Janesville is driving Equity and Excellence with uPAR