lesson- how much should be read per day, which lessons should be completed online. Plus the online lessons were lacking. I can't say those were of any benefit as well- and your kid has to type in a response. I feel bad putting her through this course which felt like a waste of time, money, and energy. I am going to reach out to the school and try to put a stop to these going out to other parents. I will never recommend this program to anyone. They are clearly there to make money and not help your child grow. Save your money and actually get a tutor or go through a program who isn't afraid to show you what evidence based approach is being used- like Orrin-Gillingham or what extensive training their teachers have. I've also gotten a lot emails pushing me to continue to buy into their online program to help her in school. As an educator, I'm telling you, to look the other way! One other note: they bill you for the class way ahead of time so you can't do a charge back on your credit card. read more

See all

***Update*** I did receive a callback from a "supervisor" regarding a request for a full refund. Apparently it needs to be a "committee" decision by a board of supervisors that meets at 12noon on Wednesdays...TBD! BUYER BEWARE: this program does ZERO differentiated instruction for both in-person and online versions. How can you provide the exact same reading material for an incoming 6th grader and an 8th grader?? And in the LIVE classroom, you've got a least 4-5 different grade levels of learners.... Good luck doing any type of small group or personalized instruction (if any). It's glorified babysitting. If your child is already a strong reader -- AVOID. And even if your child is not -- AVOID. There are other online reading programs that cost much less. In fact, many of the reading programs your child has access to in schools are far better and likely more engaging. I've called customer service four times and each time I got the same answer that your request for a refund needs to be reviewed by a supervisor and they will call you back within three to four business days. It's been a week and will likely never receive a call back. read more

The Institute of Reading Development Summer Program was great!  My 3rd grade son is behind in reading and has Dyslexia.  While this program is not Dyslexic specific, it is a well-balanced reading program.  The price of the program was $391 for 5 weeks of online and in person instruction and the books.  That comes out to about $65 an hour for the in person class time.  But you also get 3 online lessons a week to do at home.  We pay more than that for dyslexia tutoring.   There is an in person class once a week for an hour and 15 minutes.  Ours was at SDSU.  They allow parents to stay and sit in the back if they'd like.  There are 5 books (one book a week).  The books are very fun and entertaining.  There are 3 online lessons (about 20 minutes each)  to complete in addition to the at home reading.  The lessons are: Phonics, Comprehension, and Fluency.   Overall, I would recommend this program to anyone who has a struggling reader.  My son is going into 3rd grade, but did the incoming 2nd grade program because he is a year behind in reading.  It helped him read better and not regress over the summer. read more

I enrolled my 5-year-old in the Institute of Reading Development's summer class at our local community college with high hopes, especially given the promise that children would be reading simple sentences by the end of the program. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing from the start. The teacher was not a licensed early childhood or elementary educator, and it showed. Instruction lacked depth, classroom management was minimal, and the class was not engaging for my child. The online component was equally underwhelming--we found free or low-cost apps and websites that were far more engaging and effective. After expressing concerns to the program supervisor, I was told the course is actually designed for parents who are not strong readers themselves, which was never communicated during registration. The program is marketed as direct instruction for children with "expert teachers," which is misleading. As a licensed educator myself, I value programs that support families--but this was not transparent about its actual goals or audience. For the cost, I expected much more. I hope the organization reconsiders how it markets this program and ensures families have clear, accurate information before enrolling. read more

Zero star! Do not enroll your child whatsoever. The organization is super weird with horrible customer service and poor refund policy. When you call their 1800 number for a refund, the person has to request a supervisor to call you back. They don't give you that supervisor's contact number or email and you just left waiting for that call for days. When they do call, they tell you they can't issue refund if it's over 10 days after payment, which no one will tell you when you sign up for their course or in the confirmation email. Holly who claimed to be the head of their refund department said "There's no button for me to press to issue refund after 10 days. The system wouldn't allow it at all." When things happen, which they do especially with kids, don't expect any refund or even any response from them. read more

Buyer beware. I paid $320 in May 2025 for summer reading program at 4pm. I expressed concern making this time since I work FT. They would not refund and enrolled me in the fall program that was supposed to start 8.25. We never received links to sign in 8.25 and no one has responded to my emails or calls this week. They have stolen $320 from our family. read more

Institute of Reading Development - This woman signed me up. No response. - Tutoring Centers Near Me - Novato, California

I have prepaid my kid's late Fall 2025 reading program for $250, but since late last year 2025 they changed the program and, I tried to call them to schedule a reading program session for my kid on the prepaid session, but no phone nor email is available to call them, looks like they just took my money and ran away. read more

It isn't what it used to be. The new CEO fired everyone and has started a self paced program run by AI chatbots. No personalization, no teachers, no real success stories. They are using old reviews to trick people into thinking it's the same program, it's not. This reading program is over 50 years old and was successful because of the science behind it. Now, it's complete garbage. Take your business elsewhere to someone who actually cares about your child becoming a better reader. read more

Do not use this course! We signed up our 1st grader thinking it would help improve the skills she already has and keep her reading through the summer. They use old, debunked methods for teaching reading. They say "decoding" but it was just a teacher reading out a word or a sentence at a time, and asking the kids to "read" it after her. There was no decoding, not sounding out words. Just memorizing and repeating after the teacher. She was not good with kids. After looking her up, I see that she has no formal training in teaching reading to others. (and you don't know who your teacher is going to be until the day before you start the course). Save your money! read more

If you want your child to be challenged, please pick a different company. This company is more concerned with keeping your money and placing your child in a substandard learning environment than providing your child with a challenging learning experience. Their mantra is NO REFUNDS even when they do not provide what is promised. They will try to force you to accept class times that don't work with your schedule and not take responsibility for being poor evaluators. Do not waste your money here. Your child's reading will not be enhanced. read more

I am writing this review after observing my 4.3-year-old granddaughter, with my wife by her side, go through her first lesson in an online synchronous class. We reside in Hawaii and were thrilled to see kids from Chicago, Tampa, and various other parts of the U.S. in attendance, along with their parents and mentors. A few days before the class, we received the textbooks/reading material in the mail and made sure to have the specific book ready for the first class meeting. The one-hour lesson went exceptionally well, and my granddaughter was engaged for about 95% of it. (Is 100% achievable by any 4-year-old? Haha!) The teacher, Epiphany, was excellent too. In the upcoming week, there are lessons to be completed via the course website, and my granddaughter will be doing these with her mom, our daughter, at their family home. I must admit that I was somewhat pessimistic about this class when my daughter asked me what I thought of it. She found out about it through a flyer given to her by my granddaughter's preschool administrator. However, after witnessing the first lesson, my initial concerns were dispelled. We are now excited to see how my granddaughter progresses through this program and look forward to sharing our experiences with others. read more

Single mom wanted to split my payments on different payment methods to pay for a reading program for my incoming freshman. I want to keep her mind stimulated over the summer. I was told they just "don't do it", no reason. Unaccommodating FL resident read more

As far as I can tell, the Institute of Reading Development (IRD) is a money-making venture, capitalizing on parents' natural desire to help their children learn. If you doubt me, try paying for a class, having a legitimate reason to cancel, and asking for a refund. They are not going to part with your money once they have it. And if you still doubt me, try taking a class and seeing what you actually get for your money. We signed up our daughter (then a rising 6th grader) for a class last summer (2023) because we wanted to help her catch up on reading after she got behind during the pandemic. After signing her up, as we kept observing her reading and talking online about her with another reading expert, we decided that there were specific interventions that we needed to make that were very different from the description of the course. (On a happy side note: We worked with her directly and intensively over the summer on those specific things and it helped a lot.) We called to cancel the class and explained that we had discovered some specific reading interventions that our daughter needed, and that the class was working at cross-purposes with what she needed. They absolutely refused to give a refund. In fairness to them, their refund policy is "You're out of luck unless you change your mind within 10 days of paying" and we did sign up and didn't figure out our daughter's needs within 10 days, so "bad on us" and they are within their rights to refuse a refund. But it's not the sign of a business that is actually trying to help people. They gave me a nonsensical reason that they couldn't give me a refund: Since we had already signed up, it would mess up their scheduling if they un-signed us up. (That made no sense, because they gave us a voucher to take a course any time in the next 3 years. What is the difference in their scheduling system between taking us out completely and letting us schedule something any time in the next 3 years?) We are not a family that throws away $300, so we signed my daughter up this summer to use the money we already paid. The class is *fine*. The teacher is nice, and seems to do a good job, but for $300, we get 5 online classes (1 hour 15 each) with about 8 students and access to 25 online homework assignments. So, $60 per hour for a 1 to 8 teacher-to-student ratio (with a bonus of giving your student even more online homework than they had all year in school). If that seems like a good deal, this is the program for you. Just make sure you don't change your mind (10 days) after you pay them. read more

Our plans have changed and getting a refund is very difficult. No paperwork communicating cancellation policy was provided. No paperwork or email with links was sent despite the charges to credit card. Classes do not start for over two months this should not be difficult! read more

I just elected not to sign my child up for this course after doing some research. I picked up a flyer at my younger child's preschool because I was interested in enrolling my older child. Prior to researching Institute of Reading Development and making my decision to not enroll my child, the following things happened when I called the number on the flyer for more information. This was a typical hard sales call - the person on the phone was very polite, but pushy. The sales pitch was literally the same buzz words on the flyer. It took quite a while for the salesperson to disclose that this was an online program and tried to assure me that my child would be actively engaged with lots of individual attention. After asking about class sizes, it became apparent to me that this not possible. The price was the LAST thing the salesperson disclosed, and it took a few requests to get that information. The salesperson tried to get me to enroll my other child, and even went as far as creating an enrollment profile for them, even though I was adamant that I was not interested in a course for that child. The salesperson was VERY pushy about getting me to commit to course enrollment and making payment while on this phone call (that I had made only to request information) and ended up getting my email address so that I can "complete the enrollment process" - euphamism for pay for it. I spoke with my husband about this program and he said I should definitely read some reviews before paying to enroll our child. I was disappointed to realize that there would be no significant initial assessment of my child's reading level and that the program didn't offer any courses outside of the typical grade level. It was obvious to me that my child would simply lumped in with other children from his grade, and not placed in a class with children that are at the same reading level. After researching this company, and reading reviews, I am confident that my child would not have any significant benefit from this program and that my money would be better spent elsewhere. read more

Probably best not to take this class as an adult if you've had any reading issues through school or college . Although the instructor I had was truly excellent, if you've gone through high school, even middle school and have had any reading issues along the way, it's likely you've encountered all the strategies taught here more than once, there's nothing NEW for the struggling reader who has broached this concern. I took the class as a working professional adult, a college degree long in my past, BS actually, and found it largely a review. I gave it 2 stars because the techniques shared are good- consistent with everything I suspect most adults already know. (If not though, then here they are, take the course) Bottom line: don't expect anything new, just reminder of techniques For sure it was a great review, but only of things I already had come across w.r.t. reading through out the normal course of normal life and expect you have too. It is a good venue to practice them and refresh read more

My child has been taking the summer reading programs, in classrooms, for 3 years beginning in 1st grade. We took advantage of their online program this Fall and plan to take the next 3 classes for 4th and 5th grades. The Teachers are incredible and the access is remarkable. I've watched my daughter blossom into an avid reader and her grades refelct that as well. They provide online classes that enhance the learning of children who are at home trying to learn online in their regular classes. The teachers offer support for the material in this program but also offer support for assignments that the students might be struggling with in their regular studies. I cannot emphasize the benefits of this class enough. There is a tuition that averages out to $38 per week. We got every penny's worth of value. Classes are 8 weeks long. They have a Winter program that has just started and will be having a Spring class as well. read more

This program was a big help for my 1st and 4th grader. The videos and reading material was engaging and kept the interest of my children. We used their iPads for most of their study time and sometimes the module they were in would freeze up. If using an actual computer, they did not encounter any technical issues. The only reason giving 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the program freezing up sometimes. They were using new iPads so I don't think it was the device, since we had same problem on two different tablets but it worked fine on our computer using the same internet connection. The curriculum was challenging but achievable. A great motivator for my children and served as a way for my husband and I to engage them with technology while keeping a spirit of learning mindset. Worth the time and money. I plan to sign them up next summer too. read more

The program was nothing how it was explained or what was expected. I called immediately looking for help. It's been weeks since they said a full refund would be happening in 3 days. I have been pushed around from one person to another. I just left another message and email to another supervisor (Jana). I never would have imagine of having to leave a bad review. Not my style. We were so excited before we started, thought it was a good program, especially since they were working out of CalState classrooms. I can not believe how much pushing me around has been happening. Honestly the worst service. I wouldn't ever be able to recommend them to anyone I love. I leave this review in hope it will help someone choose the right place for their child. Best of luck if you have to go with this program. read more

Awesome my kid enjoyed it very much, I would've liked to sign up again but I dont even remember how I got in contact with them and I haven't heard from them in a while. read more

I highly recommend the Summer Reading Skills program. I gained the knowledge of the skills to work with my daughter, and through the class instruction and online program my 4.5 year old is reading. I didn't know how to get started with her, but the program broke down the phonics and sight words skills very easily. They also encourage various activities to keep kids engaged and practicing these skills. Our teacher Ms. Jennifer was FABULOUS and really helped encourage a love of reading. Class time was appropriate for 4-5 year olds, as well as the online lessons. If you want to know how to get your child started on their journey as a reader, this is the program to start with. read more

I signed my son up for the reading program to prepare him for kindergarten after receiving a flyer from my son's school. He is enrolled in a public school Montessori program that includes children from age 3 to sixth grade. I called in within the 14 days window to withdraw my son from the program because I thought he was already doing what the kindergarten course incorporated. I spoke to a customer service rep who insisted that I should take my son to the first grade class for one session to try it out. The first session was a mess. The teacher did not have enough books. There were not enough seats. One child was upset and walked out. The teacher had no ability to engage young learners. My son showed no interest the course materials. In fact, he cried when he had to do every online lesson. I tried emailing the customer rep to be dropped from the course, and she did not respond. I called and was directed to a manager who got loud and upset at me for not knowing the Satisfaction Guarantee policy. I am getting the run around from everyone I talk to, and it is similar to buying a lemon. This program is a lemon. I will be sharing my experience with the school's PTA, principal, teachers, and parents. read more

I received a letter in the mail with my local junior college about a class in speed reading . My first thought is they are using the junior college name to promote this but I noticed the letter did not have a price for this class . I signed up the next day but wasn't sure if the letter was legitimate . The lady was good at selling but did not mention a charge for canceling . When I canceled I noticed that every person I talked to was very rude . The supervisor also said that the 15.00 charge to cancel was on the email . The original lady never said a word about a canceling charge . My dismay of this Institute of reading is they are very misleading and I will be contacting the college and telling them that this company is not a ethical business . This 800 number is not local in Novato CA. In closing I'm glad I saw these reviews to let me know about this company . read more

UPDATE: After voicing concern to our local partnering school of higher education, I was contacted by IRD and given satisfaction for expectations which were not met. I felt that the gentleman who contacted me may advocate some real change to increase the level of programing and (perhaps) technology used for the program. I will be watching and hopeful to return to a tighter program in the future. Paid $330 for a five week program with a first grade reading level. Our child learned about 15 sight words more and struggled through independent and guided reading of four ($3) books that were LOANED to us for the duration of class. The games we received I would value at about $10 (max) total. The workbook had about 20 necessary pages out of 120 i managed to do what this whole program does, look substantial but turn out to be 90% fluff. Further, the last week they try to sell you an additional kit for $100 which based onmy knowledge here is likely $15 of product. A better value would be: Download four or five apps of sight words Create blending phonic flash cards of your own (P) (L) (K) + (ick), (it) etc. Read 1 hour a week with your child. read more

My daughter is an average reader. My expectation was that she would work on skills to strengthen her reading. However, there was no evaluation of her reading skills, no measurement of any progress from start to the finish of this course. She was board and unchallenged, expressing that the material was review. There were no indicators that any progress was made with this one size fits all curriculum. For the price of this course, I would recommend a private tutor. I am so disappointed with the waste of time and money invested. read more

This program was not what I expected. It was a total RIP off. My kids reading skills did not improve at all and the books were not on her level. There was no interaction with the parents on the students progress. read more

Good intro and overview of speed reading techniques. Covered far more than a prior book I had picked up on these techniques. It helps to have someone who can demonstrate the techniques and the instructor can read well over 1000 words per minute in some material. So she was well qualified. On the downside, the class felt a little rushed at times, but evening classes are not my favorite regardless. There was a large amount of material covered and it would be good if there was some sort of follo read more

My 4 year old loved this program, and could not wait to do "bookman" every night. The tie back between an online program (the world she inhabits) and the physical books was terrific. read more

My son is an advanced reader. This program ended up not being a good fit for him. The Institute did not honor their commitment to issue a full refund read more

My daughter loves going to class every week as well as the online lesson. I have seen more growth in two weeks than in 3 of public school. It is expensive but has been worth it. read more

The program might seem expensive at first but it's worth every dime. The program guides you as parent on how to help your child become better reader. The program is manageable, practical and easy to follow. It makes your child feel successful because the program is so well organized and age appropriate. I as a parent receive guidance on how to help my struggling son who hates reading learn to actual enjoy reading a book!!! read more

I signed my daughter up for the entering 1st grade class and I really expected to see my daughter improve her reading skills more. Honestly, shes still pretty much at the same reading level she started at. A lot of this was not due to the teacher himself but more so due to the lack of control in the class room. He had a hard time keeping them focused. I suggest possibly a reward program where if the children are good in class, they recieve a sticker/reward at the end of class, that way they have something they can look forward to. As a parent, I did gain the skill of how to help my daughter read so throughout the rest of the summer, I will be using my new skills in an effort to help her reach her desired reading level. Because I learned skills as a parent, I would not say this program was a waste, I just hope next time they control the classroom better so the kids that really want to learn get a chance. read more

I enrolled my child in the 5 week summer program: 2 hr class once a week for 5 wks plus online hw. I had to change classes because it seemed too easy for my child but the next level was only a little better (no word search type hw). I do wish they had some sort of test or something to determine which level they should be in. I thought my child was average level but the hw seemed too easy for her. Plus the other kids in class were easily distracted maybe that's partially why they're in the program in the first place. I don't really feel that she made such a big improvement after 5 wks. If anything, it was just busy work to get her ready for school again. At the end of class they were just selling their Fall program for only $199. We won't be signing up again. read more

Complete waste of $371! Parents don't waste your money on this program! My son did not gain any help at all from the summer reading program. My son was struggling with reading comprehension and writing and the person on the phone from the program assured me that this program would help improve his reading comprehension and help him read more fluently and rapidly, and become a stronger and more confident writer. None of this resulted from this program unfortunately! I should have read the reviews online before signing up because, they describe completely the same situation and class style that my son later on described to me. First of all , there are too many kids in the class for your child to get the one on one attention that you supposedly pay for. The majority of the time in class they are reading silently which they can do at home obviously! No real interactive and engaging discussions on the books. Most of the questions in the workbook that are for in class activities were not even discussed or filled out! I tried to reach out to supervisor for a refund and only offered $65 back which is unacceptable! I will definitely not be recommending this program to any one else. read more

Great program!! My pre kindergartener will be entering kindergarten with some sight words and the ability to sound out short words. He enjoys showing off the tools he gained this summer. My 10 year has done this program since he was a pre-kindergartener. My focus was a little different for him as he reads at average level but hates to read, regardless of the subject. Despite this, continuing to enroll him in both the classroom summer programs and the online programs through out the school year, we are able to keep his reading skills on par with where his skills should be for his level. The program for kids his age helps build reasoning skills while they have in depth discussions about the books. It is almost like a book club for young readers. As he was going through the program various levels, there were workbook activies, phonic and sight word games ( much more engaging then what I was able to find in the book store), reading assignments, and group discussion. I deduce from my 10 year old's experience that if you have a child even remotely interested in reading, this program can help him or her develop advance skills even if he or she starts out behind. I am hoping my pre-kindergartener,and lover of books, will prove my theory correct. I will contine to enroll both of my children. I hope the the program would add in more modern books in conjunction with the classics to ensure the children in this day in age will stay interested in the stories. read more

My daughter participated in the Rutgers Reading Program the summer before entering kindergarten. This was the biggest waste of money I have ever spent. I was under the impression the instructor would be working with the children and teaching them reading skills. All the instructor did was teach the parents how to teach their kids at home. We were given a ton of assignments to complete with our children each week and that was pretty much the program. It was $300 that was thrown away. The instructor had very little idea how to work with young children and even stated that at the beginning that she had mostly worked with adults. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!! read more

Would give No stars if I can. $371 for 5 lessons, they claimed they can make reading more interesting, teach kids with reading skills and how to read faster and comprehend better. They will evaluate your child's reading level and put them into the suitable level. The teachers didn't teach anything. It was a classroom setting, and kids reading books by themselves and tried to finish the work book they provided. They provided online program for teaching how to read non-fiction/text book and quizzes for books they provided. Still read the books at home or in class by himself and do work by himself. Felt like fell into a scam, you pay nearly $400 for 2 hours of baby sitting every week. If you ask teachers how did the kids do, they always tell you "he did well, the level if just right, he can read" When I asked the teacher if she evaluated my son's level, they all tell you it's the level that bast fit him while he complained it was way too easy. When I request to evaluate him again, they just take out a piece of paper with a simple paragraph and read aloud to the teacher. Then they said, yes, he can read, (he can read all those words). And they will tell you it's the right level because he didn't struggle. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY AND TIME TO GO!!! read more

This is a great program. My daughter went this summer prior to entering first grade. The combination of phonics at home and the interactive learning in class gave her a lot of confidence. This class helped her come out of her shell and she is participating in class by raising her hand is no longer afraid to share her opinion. I will be signing her up next summer. read more

Overall this was a good class but a bit long for the attention span of the children. Having the parents in the class also hinders the children from paying as much attention to the instructor. The online homework was great as it was interactive and my daughter enjoyed it. read more

I was pleasantly surprised. I'm an educator, so I'm pretty picky about literacy curriculum. We tried it kind of on a whim, but we definitely saw results. My son turned 5 during the 5 week program and went in only knowing his letter sounds. By the end he was reading several sight words and sounding out simple consonant-vowel-consonant words. I rolled my eyes when I first saw the online games and phonics videos, but my son absolutely loved them. He would actually request to repeat some of the games and videos just for fun. We signed up for another round of online classes in the fall just for more of these games and videos. I'm sure there are much cheaper ways out there to get the same information, but my son will not be fooled by a substitute for Wordy or Book Man. The one thing I wasn't satisfied with was the quality of the books we received. There was an alphabet book that was pretty good and we still read it pretty regularly, but the others were VERY text heavy for this age group and not very engaging. I also didn't find the room at the university to be a great space for little kids, but the instructor made it work. read more