--- title: "Skyward Student Management Suite Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Skyward Student Management Suite the right K-12 solution for you? Explore 156 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/2185/Skyward-School-Management/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- Skyward Student Management Suite 4.2 (156) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/2185/Skyward-School-Management/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated August 26th, 2026 # Reviews of Skyward Student Management Suite Ease of use 3.9 Customer Service 4.0 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews KL Kara L Director of Business ServicesEducation Management, 501 - 1,000 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Initially, I started on the SMS version and loved it.“ February 28, 2025 Kimberly L TeacherPrimary/Secondary Education, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Honestly, it's an outdated system with a terribly overcomplicated setup, and the worst setup ever. If I could, I'd stick with a better option.“ October 2, 2025 HE Holly E Special Education Administrative AssistantEducation Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The ease of reports and data mining creativity.“ December 17, 2024 Kimberly L TeacherPrimary/Secondary Education, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “We've had more problems with expense reimbursement and student and teacher management than we've ever had.“ October 2, 2025 NW Noel W IT ManagmentEducation Management, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It has lots of features and ships with a mobile app and website.“ December 7, 2023 AZ Alexis Z TeacherEducation Management, 5,001 - 10,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “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.“ December 11, 2023 KL Kara L Director of Business ServicesEducation Management, 501 - 1,000 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “They find it easier to use compared to our old software.“ February 28, 2025 AW Amanda W SubEducation Management, Self-employedUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “App is not user friendly.“ September 6, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 156 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Teresa L. Counselor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Staying in the Know - Grades, Assignments and More" August 29, 2026 4.0 Overall, I really enjoyed learning how to use this tool and even showing parents and students how to use to stay on top of their grades, advocating for themselves and parents to stay in the know. Pros Skyward was one of the frist tools I used to help with school communication and grades for my students and my own children. Once I learned how to navigate both online and desktop features, I felt more in control of what was going in my classroom and with my own children. I like the fact it was secure and that it made it easy to manage grades for both teachers and students. Cons From the use of it as a teacher and parent, I honestly don't have any complaints at this time. Like any software, it's great until it's not, or if there are technological glitches, which, thank goodness, I haven't experienced to date. Review Source BS Ben S. Infrastructure Architect Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The Skyward Student Management Suite is the best solution for SIS in K-12" April 27, 2026 5.0 The Skyward Student Management Suite has been a major improvement over the past two SIS/BIS systems we have used with the ISD. Support has been excellent, it easily integrates with ClassLink and MFA, and the system has been extremely easy to maintain and upgrade. Pros The Skyward Student Management Suite is the best available SIS/BIS for K-12. The product is 100% web based, all Windows integrated software with IIS and MSSQL, is fast, efficient, and the best database table layout of any product we have every used. 10/10 Cons The only real improvement I would like to see with the Skyward Student Management Suite would be the ability to easily identify and kill long and expensive reports that can slow down the system. Alternatives considered [Tyler K-12 Education](https://www.capterra.com/p/175676/K-12-School-Management-Administration-Software/)[Infinite Campus SIS](https://www.capterra.com/p/188836/Infinite-Campus/) Reason for choosing Skyward Student Management Suite The Skyward Student Management Suit was simply the best overall product due to cost, speed, support, compatibility, and legal requirements. Switched from [Focus/SIS](https://www.capterra.com/p/54489/Focus-SIS/) Focus is entirely Linux based as the only OS option. The vendor could not support the product in any way. Focus had no trained developers to be able to handle all the problems related to the operating system. Focus was slow, unreliable, and full of critical bugs that were never able to be resolved by the Focus developers. Review Source Response from Skyward June 16, 2026 Thank you for your review, Ben! We appreciate your feedback and are happy to hear how Skyward has made it easier to integrate with other programs you and your district use. We're also glad to hear you've had positive support experiences. Kimberly L. Teacher Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "User Experience... have you heard of it?" October 2, 2025 1.0 Honestly, it's an outdated system with a terribly overcomplicated setup, and the worst setup ever. If I could, I'd stick with a better option. Pros Skyward is a fairly complex and comprehensive system with plenty of options for employees to use at work, and decent privacy systems. Cons We recently had to switch over to Skyward because the state required it. It's been an utter nightmare. We've had more problems with expense reimbursement and student and teacher management than we've ever had. Switched from [isolved](https://www.capterra.com/p/164417/iSolved/) The state required us to use the approved system. Review Source Response from Skyward October 3, 2025 In reading your review, we are pretty sure your school is not using the latest version of Skyward (Qmlativ). Our newest platform is a more modern, intuitive version of Skyward. We are in the process of getting customers moved over, however with 2500+ customers it's a large undertaking that, unfortunately, can't happen overnight. Hopefully once your district is on Qmlativ, you'll have a better experience. AK Austin K. SHUT UP Airlines/Aviation Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Skyward better than anything" June 10, 2026 5.0 Pros It really helps with managing grades to see if you need help of to improve and it is really fun to go on to compete with who has the best grades Cons P.S. I use it for Marysville Middle School and it is amazing to use for your grade and if you get ungrounded Review Source Response from Skyward June 16, 2026 Thanks for the review, Austin. We're so glad you find Skyward easy to use for managing grades! JC John C. Chief Technology Officer Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward is Superior" October 26, 2022 5.0 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 [PowerSchool](https://www.capterra.com/p/175664/PowerSchool/)[Infinite Campus SIS](https://www.capterra.com/p/188836/Infinite-Campus/) Reason for choosing Skyward Student Management Suite Superior product, management flexibility, customer support Review Source Response from Skyward November 4, 2022 Thanks for the super review, John. We're so happy we're meeting your expectations. JP John P. Technology Director Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "QMLATIV is the most intuitive software!" February 11, 2020 5.0 We're using it both Business and Student and it's just easy to use. 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 [Infinite Campus SIS](https://www.capterra.com/p/188836/Infinite-Campus/) Reason for choosing Skyward Student Management Suite Skyward is a lot easier to use and is more intuitive. Review Source Response from Skyward February 14, 2020 Thanks for your awesome review John. From the beginning, one of the main goals of Qmlativ was ease of use, so we are happy you are finding it to be intuitive. AW Amanda W. Sub Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "CRAPPY APP - DO BETTER " September 6, 2025 1.0 CRAPPY. I've had this app for 5-6 years now and I've only ever been able to log into it 3 times. I hate that. It's really annoying Pros Can see the kids grades and that's about it. I don't like much else about the app. It's not user friendly Cons Customer support SUCKS. Can't log in half the time because the website/app forgets your password. Says you will get an email soon but never sends one. App is not user friendly. Every time I try to log in it forgets my password and I have to contact I.T. for a reset and even if I remember my password it will still not let me log in if I log out after that. Absolutely ridiculous. Review Source Response from Skyward September 8, 2025 We’re sorry you had a negative experience with our mobile app, Amanda. We don’t typically hear of the login issues you’ve been experiencing. Many people find the app to be a great resource. Arnie L. Director of Digital & Accelerated Learning Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The most compatible choice for Student Information Systems" June 30, 2022 4.0 As our primary student information system, we have experiences very few problems that cannot be overcome between our local team and their support staff. Our experience has been successful and our experience with the provider is always solutions based and quickly resolved. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward July 5, 2022 Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback Arnie. It's always great to hear that Skyward has been successful for users in a variety of settings. We look forward to getting you moved to Qmlativ so you can continue to grow with us and experience continued success. Lindsey Raye P. DI Captain, Substitute Teacher, Mom of Three Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Parents Opinion of a versatile Program " February 15, 2024 3.0 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 Review Source Response from Skyward February 16, 2024 Thank you for your review, Lindsey. If you'd like to learn how to use Skyward more effectively, we recommend checking out our Family Access Toolkit. It features tutorial videos that help you understand the software better. Natalie W. High School English Teacher E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Excellent Education Management Tool" November 28, 2020 5.0 Over Skyward provides teachers, students and administrators with up-to-date, accessible and easy to understand grades, disciplinary reports, and academic history. With very little training, I was able to navigate and operate the system within days. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward December 1, 2020 Thank you so much for the review Natalie. We're happy to see that your use of Skyward with Google Calendar is going well. In terms of your issue with the grading periods, we recommend that you put in a service call. Depending upon the way you have your gradebooks set up, someone at Skyward will likely need to learn more about what you are doing and your specific goals in order to help you. PN Pam N. Principal Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great info for parents " July 23, 2025 5.0 Pros Easy access to all of the student information such as schedule, contact info, test scores, records, etc. Cons It doesn’t really give a place to reach out to teachers directly. Or it’s not easy to find if it is an option. Review Source HE Holly E. Special Education Administrative Assistant Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward Student Management Review" December 17, 2024 4.0 I spent five years as an elementary secretary. The trainings offered and skydoc are really useful. Pros The ease of reports and data mining creativity. Cons I honestly do not use much as I do special education mostly. Switched from [DMSchedules: Special Education](https://www.capterra.com/p/209026/Special-Education/) Easier product to use and share with team. Review Source Response from Skyward December 23, 2024 Thank you for the review, Holly! We appreciate your feedback and hope you have a wonderful 2025-26 school year. BR Barb R. Administrative Assistant Pupil Services Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "One stop shop for your student educational needs" February 28, 2022 5.0 The best feature to me is that everything is in one place! Having multiple systems to manage makes data tracking much more difficult. One system, Skyward, allows our district the ability to have our student data more readily available. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward March 2, 2022 Thanks for the positive review Barb, and for being such a strong advocate for Skyward. We love hearing from all of our customers, but it's especially great when comments come from long-time customers like you! MR Mary R. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Using Skyward as both a teacher and a parent" May 19, 2022 5.0 Pros It is self-explanatory in most cases. I can figure out on my own how to create a report, post a grade........ Cons It is date driven. So if school is canceled, IT has to change the dates in the programming. Review Source Response from Skyward May 20, 2022 Thanks for your feedback Mary. It's always great to hear from Skyward users that are both educators and parents. We hope the rest of your school year goes well and enjoy your summer. AZ Alexis Z. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward for School" December 11, 2023 5.0 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. Review Source Response from Skyward February 2, 2024 Thank your review, Alexis! We appreciate you sharing your feedback. SJ Signe J. Owner Writing and Editing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to track students' grades" May 7, 2021 5.0 Skyward makes it very easy for parents to oversee their children's attendance and grades, access their schedules, receive announcements from the school, etc. It's a wonderful portal that helps parents to monitor their kids' education and take proactive steps to stay involved. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward May 11, 2021 Thank you for your feedback on how Skyward is helping you navigate your stepdaughter's academic progress throughout the pandemic. WM William M. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward Review" December 11, 2020 5.0 My overall experience with Skyward has been positive. It is a great tool to enter the students's grades. It is also an easy form to communicate with mass amounts of students and their parents (group emails, etc.). Also the academic feedback it provides is very helpful. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward December 16, 2020 Thanks for the review William. So good to see Skyward is helping to make your life easier. I'll be sure to pass along your comment regarding attendance to our product management team. VS Victoria S. Business Manager Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "for K12 Skyward is what you want" April 26, 2022 5.0 It's the best software i have ever used that does it all Pros it does everything in one location. you can't go wrong Cons payroll deals in percentages not dollars and that can be a challenge sometimes but nothing that can't be handled Review Source Response from Skyward April 28, 2022 Thanks Victoria. We love a review that gets straight to the point. Hope your school year is going great. SN Sarah N. teacher Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward-Great for Grades and Absences" July 4, 2019 4.0 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. Review Source Response from Skyward December 12, 2019 Thank you so much for sharing your comments Sarah. It's always great to hear from teachers about the ways Skyward saves time and makes your life a little easier. JD Jacque D. Data Management Coordinator Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Long-Time User" January 16, 2017 5.0 I have used Skyward for many years, so I have seen it evolve. I will tell you this; you get what you pay for. Skyward is top-of-the-line! It will not always be the least expensive software, but it is more than worth the cost!! The software definitely helps customers work smarter not harder. With many of us wearing different hats, we need to find all of the time-saving opportunities we can; Skyward makes that happen! Skyward has many ways to get to the same information, so the ease of use is really in the end-user's hands. There is a plethora of shortcuts that Skyward has provided for the end-user, so no need to get bogged down trying to find programs/areas. Their Customer Service is top-notch. I have never had an issue that was not solved in a timely manner. They are wonderful! I could go on and on where Skyward is concerned. I not only love the software, but I like that the fact that Cliff King and the entire company has a focus on nothing but schools. They are truly concerned about the customer feedback, and they use that to make the software better (although I think it's pretty close to perfect now)! Pros The flexibility and multiple ways to achieve the end results we are looking for. Cons None! Review Source Response from Skyward January 16, 2017 Thanks so much for the kind words, Jacque, and congratulations on your well-deserved recognition as a Leader in Excellence for 2017! DM Dawn M. teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Train your staff in Skyward" March 27, 2021 3.0 Skyward I am sure has many functions that I have not been trained to used. I feel good software should be user friendly and somewhat intuitive; Skyward is not. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward March 30, 2021 Dawn, the timing of your review couldn't have come at a better time. We are hosting a free remote User Group on April 26-30 with all kinds of sessions available to maximize your Skyward knowledge. If you go to our website and click on the Events tap you should be able to find it. There are also resources available at www.skyward.com/learnskyward that should help you. Thanks for your feedback. DE DaNae E. None ya Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Waste of time and effort" November 2, 2023 1.0 Horrible Pros Nothing at all do I like about Skyward. Cons Very difficult to use and a waste of time and energy Review Source Response from Skyward February 2, 2024 We’re sorry to hear you are not enjoying Skyward. Many people find using our resources, like the Employee Access and Family Access Toolkits, to be a helpful way to learn the system and get more value from it. KG Krista G. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy for teachers to use! " December 30, 2019 5.0 I have used Skyward for both student management and employee access for personal work data. It makes day today task easier and I like having access to important information when needed. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward January 2, 2020 Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback with us Krista. We take great pride in the role users play in the evolution of our products. If you haven't done so already, I urge you to consider signing up for our User Research Panel which you can access from the Support area of our website. AH Annie H. Data Clerk Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Ease of Skyward" September 9, 2022 5.0 Pros Course management and scheduling are very straight forward, making it easy to adjust class sizes & sections Cons While the student profiles are thorough, the number of inputs & options tend to get tedious. Review Source Response from Skyward September 19, 2022 Thanks so much for your review, Annie. We always love getting feedback from our customers containing the words "easy" and "straightforward." CL Cassandra L. teacher E-Learning Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Product " December 10, 2020 5.0 I love this product and use it daily for attendance and gradebook. I also use it to email progress reports and communicate with parents. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward December 14, 2020 We appreciate your comments Cassandra. Making tasks easier for teachers and office staff is what we are all about. Keeping our software user-friendly while making sure it has all the features educators need is something we take very seriously. We invite you to join our User Research Panel so you can share your thoughts and ideas with our UX team. Thanks again. Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.