Exhibit 99.1

2911 Peach Street • P.O. Box 8036 • Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54495-8036

Renaissance Learning^® Announces Second Quarter Financial Results

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis., — July 18, 2005 — Renaissance Learning, Inc., (Nasdaq: RLRN), a leading provider of daily and periodic progress monitoring systems and school improvement programs for pre-K-12 schools today announced financial results for the three- and six-month periods ending June 30, 2005.   Revenues for the second quarter of 2005 were $28.3 million, a decrease of 7.1% from second quarter 2004 revenues of $30.5 million.  Net income was $7.3 million compared to net income after discontinued operations of $7.7 million for the second quarter of 2004, a decrease of 4.5%.   Earnings per share for the quarter were $0.24, compared to the $0.25 per share earned in the prior year.

Revenues for the six-month period ended June 30, 2005 were $55.9 million, down 9.0% from the 2004 revenues of $61.5 million.  Net income, after income from discontinued operations, was $13.8 million for the six-month period, up 1.3% from the prior year net income of $13.6 million.  Earnings per share for the first half of 2005 were $0.45 compared to $0.44 earned in the first six months of 2004.

“The 2005 initiatives and new product announcements are generating excitement from our customers, sales force and strategic partners,” commented John R. Hickey, president and chief executive officer of Renaissance Learning, Inc.  “We expect to see the start of the impact next quarter as we are very encouraged by the progress made to date, along with the high renewal rates on the Renaissance Place subscriptions, all of which should ultimately result in improving revenue trends.”

The acquisition of AlphaSmart, Inc. was successfully completed on June 27, 2005, and the combined sales force of Renaissance Learning and AlphaSmart are actively selling all product solutions.  The company also reported that it is 65% of the way toward its goal of Renaissance Place adoptions of at least 10,000 buildings by 2005 year-end, and announced several new initiatives and products for the fall including AssessmentMaster, the Renaissance Classroom Response System, Read Now with PowerUp! - a middle school reading intervention solution jointly developed and offered with Harcourt Achieve, and the new partnership with Sagebrush Corporation who will distribute Renaissance Learning’s reading solutions, including Accelerated Reader, STAR Reading, STAR Early Literacy, and Fluent Reader.

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Excluding AlphaSmart products, Renaissance Learning added about 600 new customer schools in the U.S. and Canada during the quarter, bringing total North American schools that have adopted Company products to more than 68,000.  Of these, more than 64,000 use the Company’s reading products and more than 26,000 use math.

The Company will hold a conference call at 4:00 p.m. CDST today to discuss its financial results, quarterly highlights, and business outlook.  The teleconference may be accessed in listen-only mode by dialing 888-335-6680 at 4:00 p.m. CDST.  Please call a few minutes before the scheduled start time to ensure a proper connection.

A digital recording of the conference call will be made available on July 18, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. through July 25, 2005 at 11:59 p.m.  The replay dial-in is 877-519-4471.  The conference ID number to access the replay is 6206569.

Renaissance Learning, Inc., is a leading provider of research-based school-improvement programs for pre-K schools and districts.  Renaissance Learning daily and periodic progress monitoring systems give students and teachers continuous constructive feedback that helps motivate students, dramatically accelerate learning, improve test scores, and help students master all standards, while reducing teacher paperwork. Renaissance Learning has seven U.S. locations and subsidiaries in Australia, Canada, India, and the United Kingdom.

This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding growth initiatives, management’s revenue expectations for future periods, the introduction and acceptance of new products and services, and new marketing approaches.  Any such forward-looking statements may involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results encompassed within the forward-looking statements.  Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include risks associated with the implementation of the Company’s strategic growth plan and other risks affecting the Company’s business as described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company’s 2004 Annual Report on Form 10-K and later filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, which factors are incorporated herein by reference.  The Company expressly disclaims a duty to provide updates to forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or other occurrences.

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