uPar just got better: new features and more control
Our product teams have been working hard to upgrade uPar with SpeechStream—a powerful text-to-speech (TTS) tool that reads digital text aloud, making it easier for all students to understand and engage with written content.
With customizable options, SpeechStream enhances accessibility and creates a more personalized learning experience, especially for students with reading challenges or dyslexia.
What’s new?
- Updated toolbar: Play, Stop, Pause, and Settings functions are now in the SpeechStream toolbar at the top of the page.
- Simplified interface: The progress bar has been removed, streamlining the experience.
- Rate/speed adjustment moved: Now located within the Settings menu (gear icon) instead of on the main screen.
- Customization options: Students can now change the color of text highlights.
- Enhanced playback control: Students can highlight words or sentences for repeat playback.
- Improved TTS voice: A clearer, more natural-sounding voice for better comprehension.
What's staying the same?
- Stories will continue to automatically play after selection.
- Sound check, grade selection, and story selection remain unchanged.
Why this update matters
This release enhances usability and ensures students have a smoother experience when engaging with text-to-speech. While some changes—like the removal of the progress bar—may take a little getting used to, we believe the new features will ultimately provide a more flexible and user-friendly experience.
This update is especially important for diverse learners, including students with reading challenges, as it provides greater control over how text is read aloud. By allowing students to adjust playback speed, repeat words or sentences, and customize highlights, this update helps improve comprehension and confidence.
Even more voice choices to support every learner
We’re excited to share that uPar now includes six new text-to-speech voices, designed to empower students through choice, personalization, and accessibility.
With the addition of 2 expressive AI voices and 4 traditional TTS voices, students can now select the voice that best supports how they learn—whether they need something steady and neutral for focus or more expressive, natural-sounding speech to stay engaged.
These new options are built to support a range of needs and preferences – providing a more personalized and accessible assessment experience.
These new voices—especially the AI-powered options—offer natural, human-like speech that can improve student focus, reduce cognitive load, and create a more engaging testing environment.
Why? Because voice and choice matters.
When students feel heard—even in the voices that support them—they’re more likely to stay engaged, confident, and focused on what they’re learning, not how it's being read to them.
To ensure a consistent experience across tools, all voice names and descriptions in uPar now match those in Read&Write, making it easier for students and educators to move from screening to instruction.
Improved settings
Students will now see a new settings popup when launching StartPar.com—replacing the old “I hear music” screen. This updated interface allows learners to:
- Preview and choose their voice
- Adjust playback speed
- Customize highlight and contrast settings
Previewing a voice is required before starting the protocol, helping reduce distractions and improve focus throughout the experience.
To further streamline the protocol, we’ve removed the “Human Read” accommodation from uPar’s algorithm and reporting. With the expressiveness of AI voices, this distinction is no longer necessary—and removing it reduces stigma while encouraging student independence.
This latest update moves us even closer to a uPar experience that is more personalized, inclusive, and effective for every learner.
Your feedback matters
We’d love to hear your thoughts on these changes. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to reach out. And stay tuned—the best is yet to come!