ReadingIQ app and ReadingIQ.com Reviews: Is it Worth the Money?

If you're looking for an honest review of ReadingIQ.com, you've come to the right place! I know you're probably wondering if ReadingIQ is worth the money or maybe even curious about what it is. I tried out ReadingIQ, and as a mom and former teacher, I've got the lowdown for you! Read on for my full review. No time to read? Watch my 5 minute video at the end of the post!

Disclosure: I was not paid to write this post but I did receive a free trial to help facilitate my review. This post contains affiliate links to ReadingIQ.com if you feel like trying it out. Rest assured, I would not recommend something to you that I didn't totally love myself! 

My posts are designed for easy reading. Scroll for bold headings that help you find information quickly, or Pin this post for later! Be sure to watch my walk-through video at the end of the post.

What is ReadingIQ?

ReadingIQ is the latest development from Age of Learning, Inc, the same people who brought you ABCmouse (you can read my full review of ABCmouse here). ReadingIQ is basically a huge digital library for children 12 and under, which gives families and teachers access to thousands of high-quality books, chosen by experts to advance literacy.  There are TONS of titles to choose from (more on that in a minute), and switching levels is really simple (so you can choose read-alouds or easy readers, then add in more challenging titles all in one click).

What is the Purpose of Reading IQ?

ReadingIQ was created to address the needs of parents and teachers who are always on the lookout for quality book titles for kids. Not everyone has a chance to run to the library, and purchasing books continuously can be costly (and takes up space!). According to Age of Learning, "Reading IQ hopes to expand access to high-quality, high-interest books; strengthen the school-home connection around reading; and encouraging consistent at-home reading. In addition to making entire reading levels of books available for students to read at home for free, ReadingIQ enables teachers to set daily reading challenges, parents to create profiles for up to three children, and parents and teachers to track students’ reading progress." Sounds pretty good, right?

Who is ReadingIQ For?

Reading IQ is geared towards children ages 2-12. This includes beginning and/or non-readers (also called 'prereaders'), since there are read-aloud titles available.

How Does ReadingIQ Work?

If you're looking for some reading help for your child but you're not even sure how ReadingIQ works, let me tell you. It's a subscription service, so you pay a yearly (or monthly) fee, depending upon your preferences. Once you begin, you can set up an account for up to three household members. I set up one for myself and one for The Jersey Momma's Boy. When you first sign in to ReadingIQ, you can set up your reading level, pick your avatar, give yourself an account name, and choose your reading level. The home screen shows you suggestions based on your level, as well as new titles, holiday-themed titles, or highlighted special categories. You can scroll through everything and see what interests you.

Your Reading "Shelf" on ReadingIQ

One of the many things I loved about ReadingIQ was the ability to keep a 'reading shelf.' You can add whatever you like to your reading shelf, just by clicking on it. It will show you recent titles you've read or investigated, favorites (which you choose by clicking a little heart icon in the upper corner of the book), and books you've completed. There is also a little trophy that keeps track of how many minutes you've read that day and all time.

Reading Levels on Reading IQ

Another plus about the levels offered on ReadingIQ is that you can choose more than one at a time. Meaning, if you want to read books from both 4th grade and 5th grade levels, you can highlight them both at the same time.

If you are a teacher or homeschool educator, you might want to choose your reading levels a different way. There are also options to choose books based on Guided Reading levels or Lexile levels. I don't know too many reading apps that do this, so I thought that was a pretty impressive option.

 

 

What Books are on ReadingIQ?

This was my main concern when starting ReadingIQ. How many titles could there really be, right? And would they be good titles?  I'm happy to tell you that I was pleasantly surprised by what I found! There were so many titles to choose from on ReadingIQ. I was really blown away by that. My first thought was, 'I wish I had this in my classroom when I was teaching.'  Readers can just scroll and browse titles, or choose them based on specific categories.

**This just in: ReadingIQ just added a ton of new Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel titles for young readers. This is a HUGE incentive for many kids, especially reluctant readers! See below.

*Disney: Frozen, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,
Aladdin, Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,
Cinderella, Moana, Mulan, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Winnie the Pooh, The Jungle Book,
Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia, Doc McStuffins, Lilo & Stitch, Sofia the First, Robin Hood,
The Princess and the Frog, Kim Possible, and many more

*Pixar: Toy Story; Cars; The Incredibles; Coco; Finding Nemo; Monsters, Inc.; Brave;
Ratatouille; A Bug’s Life; Wall-E; and more

*Marvel: Black Panther, Spider-Man, Avengers, Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy,
Hulk, Captain America, and more

*Star Wars: Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi,
The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens,
The Last Jedi, and Rogue One

The little 'sound' icon in the corner of the book title means it has a 'read to me' option.

There are also surprise books, which is kind of fun. They are wrapped up with question marks, which makes it enticing to click on if you're not sure what to pick, right?

The titles were seriously top notch. I loved, loved, loved that they offered National Geographic and Highlights choices. What science-loving kiddo wouldn't want to read titles like this, right??

How Much Does ReadingIQ Cost?

As of the publication date of this entry, the cost is $7.99 a month until cancelled (but they usually run sales, so check back here and I'll post 'em when they do!). You could also pay an annual fee instead, just $39.99 a year until cancelled. Right from their website, here's the scoop: 'As with ABCmouse, ReadingIQ is available at no cost to teachers for use in their classrooms, with the ability to assign an entire reading level of books to each student to read at home, completely free. Families who would like full home access to all of the ReadingIQ library can subscribe for less than $5 a month. (No subscription or payment is required for children to access teacher-assigned books at home).'  If you would like to try ReadingIQ free for 30 days, you can access that offer through my affiliate link here. 

Where Can I Find ReadingIQ?

ReadingIQ is available at www.ReadingIQ.com, or can be downloaded to smartphones and tablets through the Apple App Store or Google Play. It is currently not available for Kindle Fire, although they are working on that for the future (they say it will be available soon). I am currently using ReadingIQ both online and on my smartphone and I have had no technical issues with it (knock on wood).

Pros and Cons of ReadingIQ

So what did I absolutely love about ReadingIQ? I'll be honest (aren't I always?). I loved a lot. 

Pros

-awesome selection of titles, including well-known National Geographic and Highlights books
-easy search options by category, scrolling, suggestions, or an actual search bar
-easy, simple, user-friendly site (very easy to switch back and forth between books, levels, users, and even pages in a book)
-the ability to choose multiple levels at a time, or choose levels based on Guided Reading or Lexile
-the ability to keep track of books read, minutes read and progress within ReadingIQ
-minor thing, but I loved the cute avatar choices!
-surprise books hidden beneath mystery paper (I was always tempted to click on those!)
-NO pop-up ads, no outside links, no way to accidentally click on something you shouldn't
-ReadingIQ only focuses on reading, so if you don't want your child distracted by games or other educational choices, this is the sole focus
-possibilities here are endless. Because it's compatible with most devices, you can do reading minutes homework on the go, you can have your child read in a doctor's office waiting room or at a restaurant. Instead of saying, 'here, play a game on my phone,' you can say, 'here, read a book on my phone.'

Cons

-you have to pay for it at home. I know that stinks, but you do get what you pay for. I wouldn't recommend this to you if I didn't think they offered a selection that matched the cost. If you want to try it out for 30 days free first, you can access that offer through my affiliate link here. 

-it's not available for Kindle Fire YET (although they say it will be, so I don't even know if you can count this as a con)

ReadingIQ Video Walkthrough

Here's a five minute video I made that walks you through what ReadingIQ looks like. I took the video right on my phone so I apologize if it's not high tech quality! Don't laugh, but I made the video while sitting in the pick-up line at school. Multi-tasking, you know?



Is ReadingIQ Worth It?

If you have a kid who loves reading, yes. If you have a kid who doesn't love reading and needs encouragement to read more, yes. If you have a non-reader or beginning reader, yes. If you are a teacher looking for more reading options for your students, yes. If you're homeschooling, yes! I could go on and on! I really, really loved ReadingIQ, and I think the potential for it to get even better over time is huge. I am excited that they say it will even be available for Kindle soon, too. So this momma says, GIVE IT A SHOT!

And here's some food for thought from a post by Age of Learning: "According to recent nationwide surveys of more than 1,000 preschool and elementary teachers and 1,000 parents of children 12 and under, sponsored by Age of Learning, lack of access to books is a major challenge for children’s reading development. More than 8,000 elementary schools in the U.S. – 10% of schools – do not have a school library. Yet teachers report that students with access to both physical and digital libraries are significantly more likely to be reading above grade level than peers without such access. Seven out of 10 teachers report that students would benefit greatly from more parental involvement in reading outside of school, but only one third of parents know their child’s reading level. Moreover, 85% of teachers expect students to read between 15 minutes and one hour per day outside of school, but most students are reading less than the 15-minute daily minimum, and millions are not reading at all."

Don't forget to check out my reviews of Age of Learning's other amazing online learning platforms:

Adventure Academy: One Mom's Honest Opinion

ABCmouse: Is it Worth It?