Elevate At Home Software

My student has worked his way through to the last chapter in the Reading Horizons Elevate program. We are currently finishing up that last chapter. I have been very disappointed with the program and my student has made very little progress. He is 11 and struggles with dyslexia. There are so many bugs with the program itself - the system constantly has issues when the user types in words often not allowing the user to type at all. This requires you to restart the program a few times before it works again (THIS HAPPENS SO MANY TIMES AND IS INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING!). The system will ask the user to select a word and the user will select the correct word, however, the system will say that it is wrong and then show you the same answer as the correct answer. They system will also ask the user to spell words that have homophones (same pronunciation, different spelling - like sea/see, two/to/too, etc.) but it will not define they word they are to spell, so you have to just guess which one they are wanting. Additionally, the tests, quizzes, and practice portions of the program use a computer-generated voice that can be difficult to understand at times. I have reported all of these issues multiple times throughout our use of the program, and none have been fixed.

Another issue I have with the program is that it focuses so much on decoding words instead of the repetition of actually learning words. I think decoding can help initially, but I can't say it has helped my student learn how to read any better. The lessons are so short with very little practice time. They give the same amount of emphasis and practice on basic skills as they do highly complex skills. I feel like they should have multiple lessons for some of those more complex skills that take a lot longer to learn. You also can't review the actual lesson without resetting the lesson - forcing the student to repeat it all over again. They have a quick review, but it is exactly that... it barely covers anything and there is no explanation as the the 'why' things are done that way. It only reviews the words covered in that lesson. The quizzes and tests also require the student to memorize what exactly each decoding skill is - and it will say which of these words fit decoding skill #1 - so the user has to memorize what each one is, which doesn't seem like an important thing to memorize, esp. for students who have difficulty with memorization. Also, there is a ridiculously difficult skill level jump between chapters 4 and 5. The words for chapter 5 are so much more difficult and it makes no sense how that difficulty level jumps so drastically, so quickly.

The library options are very limited, and my student has had difficulty finding articles that are even remotely interesting - and I would have to agree with him on that.

All-in-all, we spent 5 months working through this program, and my student's reading improved by 30% based on the initial baseline test. That also included A LOT of additional reading practice outside of this program that I believe was far more effective. I would definitely NOT recommend this program.

Thank God I found this website! I have a 9 year old son called Chester Wright. He was struggling on learning how to read for 3 years. I have been trying websites such as Reading Eggs, Orton Gillinham Method etc..... This website of yours is marvellous! Recommend it to all kids who find reading difficult! :)

Thank God I found this website! I have a 9 year old son called Chester Wright. He was struggling on learning how to read for 3 years. I have been trying websites such as Reading Eggs, Orton Gillinham Method etc..... This website of yours is marvellous! Recommend it to all kids who find reading difficult! :)

Really Good Learning System,
It uses fun and easy learning strategy. Recommend this. UvU

What a blessing. My son struggled for many years to read. We tried every program under the sun it seamed. I ran across this program as i was relentlessly looking and praying for another reading program. As his mother my heart broke because I understand the importance of being a good reader. We are well into over 100 days in this reading program and my son is a reader!!!!!! Worth way more than you buy it for. Im so thankful for this program and my son is too!! We will be renewing after our time is up. I recommend this to ANYONE who is having trouble or would like to be able to read better.. it works!!! Don't believe me? I dare you to try it!!! One thankful mom here!!

Written by: Patricia L.

I have 14 year old grandson who is severely dyslexic and has struggled to read all his life. He is privately tutored with the Susan Barton program having started over from the beginning of learning sounds through half of that program. I found out about Reading Horizons Elevate at the beginning of this school year and I thought it might be a good program for him to do independently on a daily basis. He is home-schooled and needs to be motivated and have success in reading and language arts. I am pleased with RHelevate for several reasons. One, I can get my grandson to do his lessons without him balking and complaining. He finds the program "good" in his words, which is great for a boy who knows that he has dyslexia and has always struggled to just read the simplest things. Two, my grandson is highly intelligent and is a great auditory learner who remembers and knows more about science and history than many adults. RHelevate is interesting enough to keep his attention and keep him moving ahead in his pursuit to function in a world that requires him to read well. I look forward to his continued success with this program. Thank you for making RHelevate available to help those of us in need. We have protected my grandson's self-esteem up to this point and we want him have all the advantages he can to be successful in life.

This worked great!

When we started Reading Horizons, my home-schooled daughter was 10, and not reading well at all. She struggled to remember letter sounds, especially in letter combinations, and had little fluency when she did manage to read aloud. While she was never officially diagnosed as dyslexic, she certainly showed every sign of it, and it had gotten to the point that she was feeling "stupid" for not being able to read.

With the Reading Horizons Elevate software, that changed. The incremental nature of the program helped her remember the skills she was learning. The fact that the instruction was verbal gave her a chance to feel like she was learning independently, which gave her more confidence. Along the way, she learned some keyboarding skills, grammar, and punctuation. The program is definitely user friendly, and I love that parents/administrators can see exactly where the student had to try multiple times, and how long it took, so that we can see exactly what they are struggling with.

In just over a year, she went from reading at a mid second grade level to reading at fifth and above. Today, she enjoys reading on a regular basis, and only occasionally asks me "what is this word?" Bottom line, if you have a struggling reader, I would definitely recommend at least trying this program!

My son has struggled for a while with learning to read and all the fun stuff that comes with it. Elevate At Home Software has made it so much easier for him, plus it's fun! He enjoys it. This is great for kids who need help or just need to elevate their knowledge with a little more than what school offers. I am so happy to have Reading Horizons for my son! You guys Rock! Thanks for an Awesome and Fun Program kids can enjoy and learn!

Review by: Marie Baker - Daleville, Alabama
Monday, September 30, 2013

I love Reading Horizons! My son has some learning disabilities and it really affects his reading. He struggles just remembering some of the sounds. The way that Reading Horizons teaches he's remembering the sounds he has learned now, at least this far! I'm grateful to have found Reading Horizons! Thank you so much for helping my son to finally be able to read much better! I look forward to continuing with the online program for years to come or as long as it's needed!

Signed,
Happy Mom!!!
Marie Baker

Review by: Naomi Maclaren - From Pixie Dusted Homeschool
Wednesday, April 17, 2013

My husband and I are Christian parents who homeschool our 2 children, ages 12 and 9. We are currently in our 7th year of homeschooling, and we are enjoying the fun and challenges it presents.

Read Naomi Maclaren's review ›

Review by: D. Bruce Cahilly II - Emporium, PA
Thursday, March 29, 2012

I would just like to say that this program is amazing in it's ability to maintain the attention of my daughter. We have tried many other resources to help my 3rd grader overcome her reading deficiencies, but this is the only program that has inspired her to work on her own!

The user interface is intuitive and appealing. The flow, and length of the lessons makes it easy for my daughter to stay focused. The visible goals also help motivate her to retry lessons that she does not pass the first time through.

We have only just begun the program(now on Chapter 2), but I am already seeing marked improvement in her abilities. When the improvements begin to show in her school grades, I will definitely recommend this product to my child's school!

One side note... I initially had some difficulty installing the program on my Win 7 64 bit system, but the dedicated and friendly help from your staff(you I believe) made the difficulties easily manageable.

The program now runs perfectly!

One programming note... I would like a little more control over the settings, primarily the score needed before progressing.

Thank you so much for this program. It has given me hope for my daughters reading future.

Review by: Susan - Mountain View, CA
Sunday, March 25, 2012

Hello, I have my own tutoring business and I have used the Reading Horizons-at-home program successfully with two students. One student was a eleven-year-old boy whose family recently moved here from Japan. Although he had some English in Japan, he needed help with the pronunciation of many words and with reading comprehension. The at-home program provided a significant reinforcement of our tutoring sessions. More importantly, the online Japanese resources that are part of the online program served as a valuable tool for him as he struggled to keep up with his schoolwork. In addition to our sessions, being able to listen to English words through his computer and seeing how the mouth forms sounds with the English Language Enhancement book helped this student make the successful transition to living in an English-speaking country.

My other student is a thirty-year-old gardener, Octavio, who wanted to learn how to read and write in English. With no more than a third grade education in Mexico, this hard-working man is raising a family of three from his gardening service business. He found that he was limited not only by being unable to read about gardening, but also by being unable to read notes and instructions from his customers. One customer, who was frustrated that she couldn’t leave Octavio notes, decided to sponsor him in my tutoring program.

Once a week I give Octavio a private, two-hour, tutoring session at a local public library. Octavio’s enthusiasm and commitment to mastering unfamiliar territory is a vital aspect of his success. The Reading Horizon program was a perfect supplement to individual instruction. From the very basics of learning the alphabet, to more complex concepts like adding suffixes to compound words with murmur diphthongs, Octavio has been able to use the software to independently navigate his way through the well- organized curriculum. The Student Workbook has provided essential reinforcements of concepts. Of particular importance is that the tone of instruction is geared towards an adult, not a child.

There have been several occasion that Octavio felt a need to re-visit some lessons, even though he had already completed the chapter. Octavio has told me that it is helpful that he can easily access completed chapters that help with pronunciation and the use of the schwa. The feature that allows him to listen to words pronounced correctly in English, coupled with the feature that gives him the option of listening to instructions in Spanish makes Reading Horizons the ideal tool for him.

One aspect of the program that has not captivated his interest as much as I had hoped is the online library. In all fairness, Octavio’s weekly homework schedule is pretty full and I assign him readings in real books. It is more important to me that he learns to enjoy reading for pleasure, rather than reading to try to master a quiz.

The proof of Octavio’s amazing progress was when he wrote a thank-you letter to his benefactor. She was so pleased that she had tears in her eyes after reading the letter! Additionally, he told me that he is looking into enrolling in an adult education program to work towards his high school equivalency degree!

Administratively, it has been pretty easy for me to navigate through reports and to check on students’ progress. When a I needed some tech support, I got immediate attention and the problem was quickly resolved.  Having gone to Salt Lake City to be trained in the Discovering Phonics curriculum, I found it quite easy to use the Intermediate and Adult versions of the program. The RH staff is always polite and personable. Thank you for this opportunity to share my experience with Reading Horizons.

Sincerely,
Susan Desmond

Review by: Vicki - Van Alstyne, Texas
Thursday, March 22, 2012

We started using Reading Horizons last year for two of our children, a boy, 13, and a girl, 11. They are both dyslexic and we have struggled for years trying to find something that would engage them and not be ""boring"" and also help them increase their reading skills. When we found Reading Horizons, it was such a blessing to us. They have been using the program for the past year and they are doing AWESOME! I am very excited with the progress of both of them. Finally a program that helps them improve their reading skills, is easy and FUN to use, and actually decreases the amount of work on me as the teacher. AWESOME job, Reading Horizons!! We will definitely be renewing our subscription for another year. Blessings to all of you and THANK YOU for this program.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to let you know how great this program has been for us. We actually have five children, aged 16, 14, 12, 8, and 4 (the two mentioned above have had birthdays and are no longer 13 and 11) and sometimes finding a program that will ""fit"" our large family and also help with our children's specific needs can be extremely difficult. Your program is a God-send, honestly. I was seriously thinking of putting these two children back into public school before we found Reading Horizons at Home JUST for the reading help they would get at the public school. Even though I KNEW I did not want to stop homeschooling them, I just had no other options. I was running out of steam and had almost lost hope that I'd be able to help them on this reading journey. Thank you again.

Review by: Homeschooling mother of 11 year old dyslexic son
Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I would LOVE to share about our experience with Reading Horizons. I'm actually busting at the seams to share about it!! The curriculum is amazing and I'm surprised more homeschoolers don't know about it. I'd love to help spread the word. My son is very private about his dyslexia. I have shared privately with several families so far and all of them have purchased your program. I even invite friends into my home and show them our homeschool room with all the posters and other goodies. More people need to know about this program!!

I've been wanting to share my enthusiasm for Reading Horizons for a long time now but wasn't sure of the best way to go about it and protect my son's identity at the same time, so I'm hopeful that this will be the way!

Thank you!

Love and Joy in Jesus,
A loving parent

Review by: June & Barry Price - Milton, TN
Tuesday, March 20, 2012

I’m am a retired teacher of the public schools systems of Tennessee.  I am also the grandmother of a precious boy who is borderline autistic and severely dyslexic with all the ADHD and sensory issues that come with both.  He has been in some kind of therapy and/or counseling since he was 2 years old.

After 3 years in early preschool intervention classes and 3 years of regular classroom studies, his pediatric neurologist recommended and strongly insisted that we take him out of the public schools which simply weren’t not equipped financially nor educationally to cope with his needs. She suggested that my husband (who is also a retired school teacher) and I homeschool Camden.  Between us we have over 50 years of classroom experience but not one day of homeschooling unless you count the help you offer your own children as they grow through school.

That was four years ago.

We had Camden tested by a reputable learning center to determine his needs, his abilities and his challenges.  With that in mind we found an educational specialist in our area who specialized in dyslexia.  She helped us learn about the challenges of dyslexia and the different approaches being used.  We did the rest.  We spent the first three years learning, adjusting, learning some more and adjusting even more.  He simply doesn’t learn like we do and we became the students in that respect and he the teacher.  I kept praying for a reading curriculum that would “fit” his style of learning and be interesting enough to hold his attention and give him hope that he could learn to read.  We have tried Wilson, Spire, Explode the Code and a dozen others.

Actually we were using Explode the Code with moderate success when I found your site from browsing.  I downloaded your sample lesson and was impressed and believed that it might be a good fit for him but the cost was prohibitive.

When your offer of half price for on-line studies came at the end of the year, I signed him up.  Wow!  From the start he took to it.  He began to get it.  What we had done before began to connect.  He works much slower than the average person but he now believes he can learn to read and he doesn’t resist our time in Reading Horizons.

Just a side note.  I tested him last year with the Stanford Achievement Test and he scored post high school in science and social studies and of course very low in reading, spelling and math.  (His dyslexia also affects his math, but not as severely as his reading.)  We are not working with a mentally challenged young man. We are working with a student who simply learns differently.   He is extremely bright and that has been a huge part of his frustration.  He knows he knows but struggles to express himself clearly. Add that to his struggles with reading and math and you have a peak into the frustrations of many bright young folks out there.

Perhaps this is more than you needed or wanted but I wanted to let you know that we are extremely grateful for your program with just two plus months of use.

We have started using the Khan Academy for his math and that is working quite well.  He is in the 6th grade and we believe that by the time he graduates from high school that we can have him on grade level and able to face this future with hope knowing he was given a chance to learn when the school systems had labeled him lazy, dumb, rebellious and trouble.

He has challenged us much and we have taught him some.  He has taught us much!!!  You are now part of ours and his success story. Thanks for the work you and your team do.