Was VocabularySpellingCity Discontinued? What Teachers Should Know
It wasn't discontinued - it was renamed and repriced. What that means for your word lists, your student data, and your Monday morning.
STSpellingJoy Team
•Last Updated: July 2, 2026
VocabularySpellingCity was not discontinued. It was rebranded to Vocabulary A-Z in 2023-2024 after Learning A-Z (part of Cambium Learning Group) acquired it. If you're a teacher who suddenly can't log in, the far more likely explanation is that your school's license lapsed - the new classroom pricing of roughly $108/year led plenty of schools to quietly drop it at renewal time, leaving teachers locked out mid-year with no announcement.
That distinction matters, because "discontinued" and "we stopped paying for it" call for different responses. The product is alive; your access to it is what died. This page covers the two questions teachers actually ask next: what happened to my stuff, and where do I rebuild.
What Happens to Your Word Lists and Student Data
Everything you built - years of weekly lists, custom vocabulary sets, student practice history - lives inside the platform's servers, not on your computer. If your school migrated to Vocabulary A-Z with an active license, that material should still be reachable through the new product; your district admin or the person who manages Learning A-Z accounts is the one to ask. If the license lapsed, your login stops working and the reports go with it. There's no public self-serve export for expired accounts, so if you still have access and suspect your school won't renew, copy your word lists into a document now. Lists are the one asset that's trivial to save and painful to reconstruct from memory.
How to Rebuild Somewhere Else (Faster Than You Think)
Here's the reassuring part: your word lists were never really trapped. Most weekly spelling lists come from a reading series, a phonics scope and sequence, or grade-level standards - sources you still have. In SpellingJoy, recreating a list means typing or pasting the words into a custom list; two minutes per week, free, no student caps. There are also 170+ ready-made, curriculum-aligned lists, so many teachers find their pattern-of-the-week list already exists. Student history can't follow you, but fresh tracking starts on day one - and this time it isn't tied to whether a purchase order gets renewed.
SpellingJoy is a 100% free spelling practice platform for K-6 students. Unlimited spelling games, unlimited tests, 134+ word lists, custom list creation, and progress tracking - all completely free with no subscriptions and no hidden costs.
Best for:Recreating your weekly lists in minutes, free, with auto-grading and trackingPrice:100% FreeGrades:K-6Platforms:Web
Pros
100% free - unlimited games, tests, and lists
No subscription or hidden costs ever
K-6 curriculum with 134+ word lists
Cons
Web-only (no native mobile apps yet)
Classroom features coming soon
2
Vocabulary A-Z
The continuation
Vocabulary A-Z (formerly VocabularySpellingCity) offers vocabulary and spelling games for K-5 students with classroom management features for teachers. $108/year covers up to 36 students.
Best for:Teachers whose school will renew under the Vocabulary A-Z licensePrice:$108/yr (classroom)Grades:K-5Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
35+ learning games
Strong classroom integration
Teacher dashboard
Cons
Rebranded from VocabularySpellingCity
Requires annual subscription
Classroom-focused pricing
3
IXL
Best full-curriculum option
IXL is a comprehensive adaptive learning platform covering all subjects from Pre-K through 12th grade.
Best for:Schools consolidating spelling into a broader paid platformPrice:$79-159/yrGrades:Pre-K-12Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
Comprehensive K-12 coverage
Adaptive learning
Detailed analytics
Cons
Expensive
Spelling is small part of ELA
4
Spelling Shed
Best low-cost paid pick
Spelling Shed is a UK-based spelling app with gamification features including competitive leagues and rewards. Home subscription $4.99/mo or $29.99/yr for up to 5 students.
Best for:Keeping a gamified feel without the Vocabulary A-Z pricePrice:$29.99/yr (home)Grades:Ages 5-11Platforms:Web, iOS, Android
Pros
Strong gamification features
Competitive leagues
Cross-platform
Cons
UK curriculum focus
British accent audio
Original app phased out for subscription model
Frequently asked questions
Was VocabularySpellingCity discontinued?
No. VocabularySpellingCity was not discontinued - it was rebranded to Vocabulary A-Z during 2023-2024 after Learning A-Z (Cambium Learning Group) acquired it. If you lost access, it is almost certainly because your school license lapsed or was not renewed at the new price, not because the product was killed.
What happened to my VocabularySpellingCity word lists?
Word lists lived inside your account on the platform. If your school migrated to Vocabulary A-Z with an active license, your lists should be accessible there - ask your school administrator. If the license lapsed, you lose access to the lists along with everything else, so it is worth copying them into a document before any expiration date.
Can I recover student data after our license expired?
Once a classroom license lapses, teachers generally cannot log in to view historical student reports. Your best route is asking your district administrator whether the Learning A-Z account is still active or renewable. Going forward, choose a tool where tracking is not tied to an annual invoice - SpellingJoy provides free progress tracking with no expiration.
What replaced VocabularySpellingCity for schools?
Officially, Vocabulary A-Z is the replacement - it is the same platform continued under Learning A-Z at roughly $108/year per classroom. Unofficially, many teachers whose schools did not renew have replaced it with SpellingJoy (free), Spelling Shed (low-cost paid), or broader platforms like IXL that districts already own.
How do I rebuild my spelling lists in a new app?
Faster than you would expect. Most weekly lists come from your reading curriculum, phonics scope, or basal series, so you already have the source material. In SpellingJoy you can type or paste each list into a custom list in a couple of minutes, or start from 170+ ready-made curriculum-aligned lists and edit from there.
Is Vocabulary A-Z the same as VocabularySpellingCity?
Functionally, yes - Vocabulary A-Z is the renamed continuation of VocabularySpellingCity under Learning A-Z ownership. The meaningful differences are the pricing model (classroom licenses around $108/year instead of ~$35/year subscriptions) and its integration into the Learning A-Z ecosystem.
Our Verdict
The product didn't die - the affordable version of it did. VocabularySpellingCity lives on as Vocabulary A-Z, and if your school renews the license, your workflow can continue mostly unchanged.
If the renewal isn't coming, don't wait for it. Rescue your word lists while you still have access, then rebuild in SpellingJoy - it's free, takes an afternoon at most, and your spelling routine (assign list, practice with audio, auto-graded test, check progress) transfers almost one-to-one.
The teacher's takeaway: treat this as a forced upgrade, not a loss. The core features now cost nothing; the only thing you truly leave behind is last year's data.
ST
About the Author
SpellingJoy Team
The SpellingJoy team is dedicated to creating free, high-quality spelling resources for K-6 students and their families. We test every app we review and provide honest assessments to help parents make informed decisions.
