PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS vs. Skyward Student Management System

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
eSchoolPLUS is a student information system for managing student demographics, grades, scheduling & attendance, discipline & report cards, and other information in k-12. eSchoolPLUS was developed by Sungard K-12 Education which was acquired by PowerSchool in March 2017. It is now owned and supported by PowerSchool.N/A
Skyward Student Management System
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Skyward, headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, offers the Skyward Student Management System, a k-12 student information system which provides classroom tools (e.g. gradebook, attendance tracking, etc), Family Engagement tools with portal, as well as admin and student services task management.N/A
Pricing
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUSSkyward Student Management System
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUSSkyward Student Management System
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUSSkyward Student Management System
Features
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUSSkyward Student Management System
Student and Faculty Administration
Comparison of Student and Faculty Administration features of Product A and Product B
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS
8.4
Ratings
2% above category average
Skyward Student Management System
6.9
Ratings
18% below category average
Integrations with 3rd-Party Education Technology10.00 Ratings5.90 Ratings
Online Registration Management5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
District Communications, such as messaging and alerting5.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Roster Management10.00 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Platform Customization10.00 Ratings3.10 Ratings
Teacher Self-Service6.00 Ratings6.30 Ratings
Student Data Security10.00 Ratings8.70 Ratings
Community Support8.00 Ratings3.00 Ratings
Class Scheduling9.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
State and National-level Reporting10.00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Compliance Support10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Teacher and Parent Mobile Application8.00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Best Alternatives
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUSSkyward Student Management System
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
Enterprises
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
Schoolmint Hero
Schoolmint Hero
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUSSkyward Student Management System
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
6.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUSSkyward Student Management System
Likelihood to Recommend
PowerSchool eSchoolPLUS is a highly effective data warehouse, with easy input and nearly boundless ways to get to the raw information. For a team with strong capabilities in report writing (say, SQL/IBM Cognos, etc) the opportunity to get to the base of the information and communicate it well is incredibly strong. However, if you are relying on stock reports to get you what you need, it may be imperfect.
Read full review
Skyward SMS is well suited as a Student Management System for anyone who wants to drive their organization based on data. The capabilities of using the fields available as well as adding our own custom forms make data collection extremely easy. Reporting abilities take that data and allow us to make sense of what has been collected
Read full review
Pros
  • One-stop resource for student data, from test scores to medical alerts.
  • Parent information, including contact and custody details, are readily accessible.
  • Clean and easy-to-use format makes finding what you need very easy.
Read full review
  • Skyward does well with managing the students' information. It was easy to find a student's schedule, grades, behavior record, or family information because it was all separated out.
  • Another strength is the system’s way of requesting time off. All of the steps are laid out in a organized manner, and you can check the status of the request with one click.
  • Skyward also pairs well with other applications. Whenever I need a substitute for a class, Skyward links me to Aesop (the absence software) and allows me to put in the request. When I’m done, Skyward updates automatically with that information.
Read full review
Cons
  • It can be difficult to find information when first beginning with it.
  • It can take many steps to perform one task.
  • Can run slowly on certain networks.
Read full review
  • Skyward's reporting can get confusing so it would be nice if it was cleaner and possibly came with some common reports other schools use too.
  • Skyward's GUI is out of date and needs a refresher.
  • Skyward can have compatibility issues after an update.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
It is the system I am most comfortable with, so having to learn a new system outweighs any problems I have with Skyward.
Read full review
Usability
No answers on this topic
It takes some time to get used to navigating the features and layers, but once you know your way around it, it's pretty good.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
This would be the same reasoning as in the previous question. It is all about having enough bandwidth to run it across your district and buildings.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Performance
Reports do run in a reasonable amount of time based upon the number of entries you are working with. You are also able to continue working on other areas while the report is being created so your device is not tied up during this process.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Overall great job, issues were taken care of. People in support do care.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
No answers on this topic
Yes, I was part of the implementation team.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
One platform is SKEDULA that would be a direct competitor with eSchoolPLUS. However, the issue with SKEDULA is that they do not have the breadth of tools that eSchoolPLUS and PowerSchool offers. With SKEDULA you can also input grades and marking periods, but the platform they use is harder to use on the website. Their mobile platform is easy, but its web platform is extremely slow to use. They also send you to an alternate website for inputting marking period grades, rather than being able to input final marking period grades and comments directly into the normal grading section of the student/teacher portal. I would rather eSchoolPLUS over SKEDULA as it has more functions and has a much more appealing Menu drop down and links. Navigating the website quickly is important, and that navigation system they have is actually the simplest to understand and use that I've been able to use in education. Moodle is another platform I do use and would recommend to some degree, but it would not be my choice when compared to the variety of functions in scheduling, reporting, and intervention that eSchoolPLUS provides.
Read full review
Skyward is used differently at our school than GoGuardian. GoGuardian is used to monitor student use of technology during school hours, and Skyward is used to track student data such as attendance, uniform, tardy arrivals, grades, and behavior. Overall, Skyward's interface is more user-friendly than GoGuardian. GoGuardian requires even more clicking around to find what you are looking for
Read full review
Scalability
There are days when PowerSchool can be very slow when loading. You definitely have to make sure you have the bandwidth in your district to run the platform appropriately.
Read full review
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • Our Return on Investment is high, as it makes our jobs easier, allowing us more time to troubleshoot and train staff instead of digging for student information.
  • Overall our business objective is to store and access student information quickly, efficiently, and securely. eSchoolPLUS allows us to do that.
  • eSchoolPLUS has no negative impact on our ROI. Sometimes, after an update, there is a learning curve and bug fixes that need to be worked around, but in general, it is a great product and there is little downtime for our organization.
Read full review
  • I believe that we have had a great Return on our Investment as we have been using this software at a district-wide level for several years now and it keeps being an effective management software system for our students and families.
Read full review
ScreenShots