Skyward Student Management Suite

Pros

This software is easily navigable for educators. I can input grades, edit assignments and change due dates with only the click of a button. Its integration with Google Calendar allows my students to keep track of due dates, as well.

Cons

Skyward has pre-set grading periods, but as a teacher there are still intermittent periods (6 week grade period) where I need to manually input each student's grade. This seems an unnecessarily arduous task.

Pros

I have experience with pretty much every SIS in Wisconsin and Qmlativ is definitely the easiest to use. The intuitive nature of it makes it easy to get stuff done. The technical support is the best I've seen in the industry. Everyone is very knowledgeable and is kind.

Cons

I wish Skyward Business and Student are merged, but I know they're working on that. Still would be nice!

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Skyward Student Management Suite

Reasons for Switching to Skyward Student Management Suite

Pros

-It is a more reasonably priced option than the bigger players like Campus or PowerSchool.

-It is still better than JMC (which is sad).

- IF you can figure out how to do things in it and IF you don't mind an ugly program that visually is stuck in 2003, it may work for you.

Cons

- Probably the least user-friendly software I've ever used. It has tons of random settings that are sprinkled all over the software and requires a super-user on your team to accomplish even some of the more regular day to day functions.

- Reports are terrible. You have to set the fields and ranges and then waste time running a report to see if it works. I can't tell you how many times I've done this and had the system return a blank report because one tiny parameter was off OR the report doesn't do what I thought it did from the title (with no explanation).

- Teachers hate it. It's so limited, it forces your district into changing its grading procedures to fit the limitations of the product

- Customer service is dismissive and unhelpful.

Pros

Ease of useFlexibility managing complex schedules, reports, etcProduct RangeCustomer Support

Cons

The interface is dated but that is solved with the new Qmlativ product.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Skyward Student Management Suite

Reasons for Switching to Skyward Student Management Suite

Pros

SKYWARD continues to be an industry leader in the area of records management, fiscal management, employee access. It has been the one stop place for all student, financial and employee records in every district I have worked with. The integration with other systems and the wealth of dashboard options allows for all things to be managed in one system.

Cons

As an interface, there are areas that need to be updated. The introduction of QMLATIV should address many of the shortcomings of the existing software. We are excited to see what the next generation of the software has to offer.

Pros

-You can input almost anything into a student's profile and easily find what you are looking for.
-You can run numerous reports on anything. However, you have to know exactly what you want and how to do it. You will have to get training or read up on it.
-Easy for parents and students to view on your phone.
-Numerous options for attendance. Absent, Tardy, walked out, didn't come back from lunch, skipped, truant, doctor, excused, and about 20 more. The only one it doesn't have is absent because more than 15 minutes late.

Cons

-There is no easy way to print student grades, schedules and absences. It's not hard, but it's a lot of steps. Find the schedule, print the schedule to PDF, open the PDF, and then finally print the PDF. Attendance and grades are exported to excel and then you have to change the format to print on one page. Like I said, it's not hard, but why can't you just hit print.
-When searching for a student with a common name, sometimes the system doesn't show all of them.
-It does not tell you a student's current grade. It will show you T1, T2 and S1. T1 and T2 are the progress reports and S1 is the semester average, but it doesn't show the most current.

Pros

There are so many functions in one place. Check grades, missing assignments, email teachers, lunch calendar, etc. Multiple children in a family can be easily accessed together.

Cons

When emailing a parent/teacher, they cannot respond back directly. I wish they could. It would make the line of communication more direct. But, at least they can read the message and respond back by another means.

Pros

I LOVE THAT SCHOOLS OFFER SKYWARD TO PARENT SO THAT THEY CAN KEEP UP WITH THEIR CHILDREN'S HOMEWORK AND CLASS WORK AS WELL AS ALLOWING PARENTS TO ADD MONEY TO THEIR KIDS LUNCH ACCOUNTS. YOU CAN SEE YOUR CHILD/CHILDREN'S GRADES AS WELL AS WHICH ASSIGNMENTS THEY ARE MISSING. YOU CAN ALSO SEE HOW MANY QUESTIONS THEY MISSED ON A QUIZ OR TEST. IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE MORE THAN ONE CHILD LISTED AND THEY ALL CAN BE AT DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. AMAZING!!!!!

Cons

There isn't anything that I don't like about this software. It is the best thing that they have created.

Pros

Able to manage all kids in one place. View grades, attendance records and transportation information

Cons

A lot of unused apps or functions that is confusing

Pros

It has a comprehensive set of features that allow student management. From the teacher side the data is fairly easy to view and input of the gradebook and attendance is relatively easy.

Cons

It is somewhat difficult to learn. There are many variables that can confuse teachers in creating gradebooks and in accessing information. The reports are not particularly intuitive to use.

Pros

This is an extremely powerful suite of software. Once you learn the basic interface (which takes quite a while) you can get more and more useful data out of the system.

Cons

The learning curve is steep. I've been using this program for 15 years and am still improving my skills. Many of the reports are hard to read and simply ugly. I shouldn't have to have my tech department use Crystal Reports (which I don't have access to and don't know how to use) to get something that looks professional. It needs to include a publishing tool similar to Microsoft Publisher (NOT Word!) so that I can design things easier. The report designer is terrible. It is cumbersome and not at all intuitive.

Pros

Updates to student grades happens instantly, if I change a student's grade, as soon as I save it, they can see it on their end. Custom reports are also very useful, being able to limit the information to only what I want on the report is helpful.

Cons

It does not integrate with anything. It is extremely difficult to import grades from any other program or online curriculum/grading system. We are a google school and there is supposed to be a way to get GoogleClassroom grades in Skyward, but no teacher as been able to make it work yet. Grades must be manually moved from Google to Skyward, which doesn't take long, but adds up over the course of multiple assignments and hundreds of students.

Pros

Easy to use, can do multiple windows to jump from one area to another is huge!

Cons

Food Service application letter set up:(

Pros

I like how Skyward makes everyday tasks like taking attendance easy or checking attendance history. I also like the availability to gather student information from their profiles when needed.

Cons

I don’t like how the app version doesn’t allow you to view detailed information like the computer software does. I wish the two mirrored each other better.

Pros

I love all the different reports and features that Skyward has. It takes much of the work off of teachers.

Cons

It is not very user friendly. Due to the fact that there are so many features, it is difficult to maneuver through everything to find what you need. Basic training is very helpful.

Pros

I love everything about Skyward. My school district has everything linked and when teachers use it to its full potential it is helpful to a parent that has multiple students to check on and communicate updates about. It has been the one thing that has kept me in contact with teachers over the years of using it.

Cons

There are few if any things I do not like about the software. I appreciate that it can be easily navigated.

Pros

It is a very good software, full of features and options, to some extent easy to use specially for the daily basis tasks. Very good support.

Cons

Not very opened to customizations, and being an international customer our requests are not heard or taken into consideration.

Pros

There is a lot that can be accomplished through Skyward. You can track students, finance, and human resource functions. Each module is very easy to use and they are willing to work with you to assist in making changes and upgrades to their products.

Cons

Sometimes the functionality is a little rough, but the programmers have been making constant upgrades to the system and new updates come out all the time.

Pros

Reports that are time savers.

Cons

Some settings are at deep levels that are difficult to find and use.

Pros

Skyward has many features & can be accessed on any device pretty much.

Cons

The ability to have buttons to go to next page on the screen- Many times this some how not happening. All options aren't able to be clicked or saved. You have to fill out forms multiple times. Gradebook format gets thrown off. Needs to be easier to use even after 12 years having to use it.

Pros

What I like most about Skyward is that it offers many types of reports that can be printed out or shared online. Data can be accessed by parents any time of day and they are able to ask questions through the program.

Cons

I haven't found a need that is not met by this software.

Pros

This program is very safe and secure. Many large school districts trust this program for student and parent information.

Cons

I have struggled some as a parent when I try to scroll down to view more information about my child's grades I will be sent back to the log in screen.

Pros

Skyward is a very powerful product. We have used it for 15+ years and I am still finding useful features. Anytime I have an issue, support is punctual and extremely helpful to solve my issue.

Cons

Skyward can be very daunting because it is so powerful. It is semi-userfriendly, but the interface looks stark and cold.

Pros

Skyward has a simple interface and is easy to navigate. It auto signs out in case of in-activity which prevents others from viewing your account.

Cons

The calendar design doesn't help view tasks and often times it won't sync with other school managing apps.

Pros

Very easy to use for students and teachers. I love how as a student I am able to see every single detail about my grades and what is submitted and what did not get submitted.

Cons

Through my use of Skyward for high school, I have loved it!

Pros

I have been using Skyward Student Information System for the past 25 years. We have slowly added other features to our portfolio. The Student Services system has worked well for assistance with IEPs for our special education students. Having the ability to track information for due dates, form status, etc. has been wonderful. The ability to have it tied to the student database is terrific because if a family moves, the addresses are automatically reflected in the special education areas. We have use the Enrollment feature for the past 5 years now and it has saved countless hours for staff by allowing them to verify information, instead of having to decipher information and enter it into the system. Parents are able to enroll at any time of the day because it is completed through our website, and doesn't require the family having to find the time to come to the school to enroll. Food Service allows a wanding message to be added for those that have allergies or other health issues, which assists the workers when the students come through the line. With Fee Management and Food Service, parents are able to pay fees or add money to their food service account through Family Access. There are many great features about this product and we are very pleased with the product.

Cons

The 504 Accommodation Plan area is a little cumbersome and doesn't flow quite as nicely as the special education model does, but there are not as clear cut state requirements so product development does not work the same.

Pros

Our school mostly uses this for class rosters and tracking attendance. For those purposes, it works really quite well. Tracking attendance is quick and easy, you can go in and mark students as absent or present or tardy. You can also click "all here". You can add in health notes about students and other important things we need to know as teachers.

Cons

The other features we don't use because they aren't good (e.g. the grade book) and we use it with schoology instead as it links with assignments that can be turned in. However, I really wish we could streamline it and use all one program for everything (learning management system, grade book, attendance, etc.) or that they all connected.

Also, while the class rosters and schedules work and can be printed, it is not intuitive how to do so. They are not displayed well or functional for how I'd like to use them.

While I like I can go in and see student notes and data, you have to click on students individually which sometimes is difficult.

Pros

Possibly my favorite aspect of Skyward is the ability to dump data directly into Excel. This is a huge timesaver and allows me to manipulate, sort, share and utilize data as needed. I also like the ability to create reports based on my needs using Data Mining.

Cons

There are still a few things that I wish I could do in Skyward, that I can't, such as use activity groups to run certain reports/schedules. Occasionally, we experience what I call "Skyward quirks" when something doesn't work right one day, but it works the next. Recently, our library parapro ran a report and new that the info displayed wasn't wholly accurate. I checked her format and everything was good. I printed it with the same results. I cloned the report, changing nothing, and ran that and it was accurate. The next day her report worked properly again.

Pros

*Skyward has an excellent report making system and it's practically limited by the creativity of the user. I have not experienced a case where there was not a report created for something I needed. Best of all reports can be shared by other users and you can learn a lot by how others use their reports.

*Improve business process agility.

*Enhanced decision making.

*Surprisingly easy to teach.

Cons

Skyward has a very high learning curve. I would not recommend someone start using it without at least a couple of hours of training. I received 10 before starting it on the job and that was just scratching the surface. It's a complex program and users should be adequately trained for it. Managers need to know that it's not something can be self-taught. There are training manuals for it but it's best learned when trained by experience users.

Pros

That I can check my childs grades when I can get into the system

Cons

Every other month I am being told on the app that my password expired and to use a desktop to reset my password. I go to my desktop and it tells me my password is no good to the point where I get locked out. Then I have to contact my school and have them send me a new password reset link. I never saw a software package that didn't give the users the option of selecting "Forgot Password" or "Reset Password" feature. The company says this is for security while they don't even have an option for two factor authentication. How about bringing your code out of the 1900's and creating an option where a school doesn't need 2500 parents contacting them every time they need to change the password!

Pros

Skyward makes it easy for parents to track their kids' attendance and grades. This has been especially important during the pandemic because the kids have been learning from home for more than a year. When my stepdaughter started slacking off and not logging in to her synchronous classes, we found out very quickly by tracking her attendance through Skyward. This allowed us to address the issue right away, before she missed tons of class and fell really far behind. Similarly, it is easy to see the kids' grades. I know right away if assignments are missing, if they turn in incomplete work, or if they don't do well on a project/test/homework. That way, we can work with them to improve their grades right away rather than waiting until they've fallen so far behind that they can't bring their grades up.

Cons

It isn't always intuitive to use. When you click on "Gradebook," you get an error message that says "Not available when viewing all students." The first time I logged in, I had a hard time figuring out how to view the kids' grades. The menu to select a specific student is hidden at the top of the screen, whereas all the other menus are on the left. It took me forever to find it. Once you figure it out, it's easy -- but the first time, I struggled when trying to access grades.

Pros

I love the ease in being able to create categories and assignments with this software.

Cons

There are some glitches in the software. For example, in regards to attendance, it is hard for us teachers to adjust the attendance after they have been entered as absent in first period, but they show up later in third period. If they are at school during second period, but are "tardy" to third period, I can't enter their tardy to that particular period because initially they were counted as absent by their first period teacher. This can be problematic at times. The only person at our school that can adjust this would be the secretary. Although this does not happen often, it is a glitch that should be looked into.

Pros

It has lots of features and ships with a mobile app and website. It also has a domain and total control of all data.

Cons

Horrible UI, bad graphics and design, slow and clunky, features that just don’t work, overpriced

Alternatives Considered

Pros

I like the ease of functions Skyward offers. My current school uses a program called TAC and compared to Skyward, it's very difficult. Skyward made it very easy to find student information, input grades, and copy assignments. The attendance was also easy to input. I also like how different schools can change the layout of Skyward to suit their needs.

Cons

One thing I do not like about Skyward is the rostering system. Because it goes by period, if a school has A and B days, this causes Skyward to have multiple rosters for each class. This makes it difficult because it takes time to choose the correct roster for the date/period. It's not done with a glance in which I can just click on the period number. It takes much too long to decipher which roster to pick for that date/time attendance.

Pros

Being listed as Family 2 means I don't get much of any benefit out of Skyward other than seeing my kids' grades and progress.

Cons

The software is clunky, not user friendly, not family friendly, and serves only as a repository of data that is very uneasily accessed.

Pros

We use this software daily and I like the idea of a gradebook that is on-line to report grades virtually, especially with the changes in our world.

Cons

Difficult to use, not really user friendly (or teacher friendly rather) for the lower grades. I found that many upper elementary, middle school or high school enjoyed it and used it in so many other ways. We currently only use it to report attendance, grades and scan school entry documents. I am sure there are many other features that this platform offers.

Pros

The flexibility and multiple ways to achieve the end results we are looking for.

Cons

None!

Pros

Skyward does a good job of meeting teachers needs, making grading and attendance easy, and simply making teachers' jobs easier.

Cons

Adding columns or data within a screen is easy to do (2 clicks to start), but the process of choosing the correct data you want is a rabbit hole. There is SO MUCH data in the database, that you need to know an exact pathway in order to add the correct data to a screen.

Pros

Skyward keeps all of the records and any information that you can possibly want to report, accessible at your fingertips.

Cons

The annual cost is a little much, not sure how it compares to other school softwares. It takes some training to use. If you know computers and how they work, it will be a snap. I did not find it very intuitive.

Pros

I like the quick score button on this software. When you click it, it opens up the grade sheet for every assignment in that class. This makes it easier to grade multiple assignments and update them easily and in a timely manner. If I didn't have this tool/button, it would take much longer for me to update grades.

Cons

I wish that I could see the entire title of each assignment when looking at my class for my grades. Currently, I can see the beginning of the assignment title and the total amount of points it is worth. For example, if the title of my assignment is Science World News Page 5, it may show up on the grade sheet as simply Sci W. This is to save space, but I would rather it shows the entire name. I have some assignments that have the same name, but specify parts by stating page numbers. This would make it easier for me to grade.

Pros

One of my favorite things about Skyward was the ease that went into transferring grades if a student was moved from one class to another. I've worked at multiple schools and used multiple softwares for grade input/attendance/etc., and this was definitely the best for that.

Cons

Honestly, my least favorite thing was the overall appearance. Web design has come so far, but the aesthetic of Skyward is lackluster, to say the least. It could definitely look better.

Pros

I like that I can mark all students present with one click. You can set up seating chart attendance with or without pictures. It can average grades for you. You can see if parents have accessed their child's profiles.

Cons

This is not user friendly and requires training. If staff is not trained (I was not) it leads to a great deal of frustration.

Pros

I love how easily I can input grades for all of my students in multiple courses. The attendance function is easy and I can enter attendance quickly every morning. I also love that I can pull reports for all of my students at once and print them for viewing.

Cons

Finding a specific report is difficult. You have to go through several different hyperlinks to get to the one you want and sometimes it's not the correct one and you have to start over. The reports are a little bit confusing but once you find the correct one it is helpful.

Pros

Flexibility and the frequency of updates to the software

Cons

Navigation can be burdensome for those who have system-wide security access. This is just due to the amount of features that are available, but not much of a problem for end users as they only have access to what they actually need.

Pros

The grade calculation and attendance parts work well. The custom reports are nice to save for the future.

Cons

The system isn't as user friendly as I hoped. Many connectivity issues with Canvas, this causes true have issues importing and exporting grade.

Pros

I loved how easy, once you learned the ropes, Skyward was to operate. It was literally my one stop shop. And now, I have 4 LMS systems that I use and this makes me miss the simplicity of Skyward.

Cons

The learning curve is steep, but once you learn, as a teacher, Skyward can make your life easier than doing everything on your own.

Pros

We have a family account with SKYWARD and we used it several times a week for our high school aged children. The software is very user friendly. We are able to check grades, add lunch money, see announcements, etc ..

Cons

Since using the software, we have not found anything we don't like. Having family access allows everyone to see our account.

Pros

I like that I can choose how I want my screen to look and can choose the information presented. I am able to toggle between all of the different pages easily and efficiently. I can access my child's information st the click of a finger. Additionally, I can access pertinent school and district information. I prefer this program to PowerSchool, as a parent user. I have access to more information faster and easier.

Cons

I have had no real problems with this program so far. It has served my needs as a parent. I only struggled with the initial login, due to a bit of s glitch in the system, but that was all worked out.

Pros

I like the ability to run student report data for large sets of students.

Cons

I find Skyward to be very difficult to use. After working with this software daily for two years I feel as though I have no independent skill. Nothing about this product is intuitive. I do not feel as though this is a user friendly tool and I feel as though there may be better tools for districts to use for their student management.

Pros

The user interfaces designed very well, and the ease of use is not notch. I was able to learn skyward within one day when I started working for the school district. So I would say that ease-of-use is by far my favorite part of the software.

Cons

Having to reset my password every couple of weeks is rather annoying. If we could fix that, I would really appreciate it. I don’t like having to call tech-support to reset my password every two weeks to one month.