# Skyward Student Management Suite Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Skyward Student Management Suite the right K-12 solution for you? Explore 154 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/2185/Skyward-School-Management/reviews --- Skyward Student Management Suite 4.2 (154) [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 March 13th, 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 “Honestly, it's an outdated system with a terribly overcomplicated setup, and the worst setup ever.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 154 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use 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. 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 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. 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. KL Kara L. Director of Business Services Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good experiend" February 28, 2025 4.0 We only the use the Skyward's financial system. We use it for every financial aspect of running our District. Overall, the experience has been positive, we have become more efficient with timekeeping and time cards and Q has allowed other staff to record transactions which saves the business office from having to touch everything. Pros Initially, I started on the SMS version and loved it. It was so easy to use, had great reporting and provided me what I needed. I am now on Q and the District users like this . They find it easier to use compared to our old software. Cons I wish there were more useful reports and that the reports that are available, I wish they had the ability to limit the data or query it. I also wish that support was quicker with responses. The capital asset module is very disappointing. There could be so many useful reports added but it's like they started developing it and then just suddenly stopped and called it good. Review Source Response from Skyward March 4, 2025 Thank you for your review, Kara! We appreciate your feedback and hope your district continues to enjoy Qmlativ's finance system. 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 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. JB James B. Student Accounting Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Best app! Easy to mess with!" January 24, 2025 5.0 If your looking for a app that shows grades! THIS IS THE ONE YOU NEED! 10/10 Pros I love how the layout of it is. It makes it easy and I love the app itself it tells my grades. Cons The Charts are a little confusing but other wise great Switched from [GRADEpro](https://www.capterra.com/p/10014603/GRADEpro/) It's does not to as good with layout! 10/10 Review Source Response from Skyward January 27, 2025 Thank you for your review, James! We hope you have a great rest of your school year! CC Cheri C. Secretary Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Power Comes with Responsibility" January 19, 2022 4.0 I use mostly the student management modules. I've worked in attendance, discipline, scheduling, substitution, reports cards, fee management, data mining, and health office. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward January 21, 2022 Thanks for the review Cheri. Balancing ease of use with product functionality is something we take very seriously. If you haven't already done so, we hope you will consider joining our User Research Panel so you can share your ideas directly with our UX team. For more info, visit www.skyward.com/moreinfo/user-research-panel. Thanks again. Carlos C. HR Associate Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward School Management Review" February 6, 2020 5.0 Skyward is a fantastic program and quite simply I cannot imagine doing my job without it. It helps with decision making both at the school and admin level, giving decision-makers the data they need to get the job done. 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. Reason for choosing Skyward Student Management Suite Skyward is used by many school districts in the area, meaning that teachers and staff members that transfer into our district are familiar with it and do not have to receive so much training on it. Review Source Response from Skyward February 7, 2020 Thank you for the great comments Carlos. We hear from a lot of customers who share your views on the value of our reports. As for the learning curve, we agree that training is critical to getting the most from Skyward and many customers tell us the investment they made in PD made their move to Skyward much smoother. TB Teresa B. counseling secretary Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward review" January 20, 2017 4.0 This is my district's 7th year using Skyward. I am the counseling secretary in our high school and work in Student Management. I am also a security manager for our district. Honestly, when we made the transition to Skyward I was very unhappy. I didn't find Skyward to be very user friendly and I wasn't pleased with the customer support response time. Oftentimes I was unable to find a way to make Skyward do what I needed. However, as the years have passed, Skyward has made improvements to the program, I have learned the system better and the customer support live chat option is a huge timesaver. Now, I really enjoy using Skyward. I have the dubious distinction of being our district's "Skyward guru" and I believe I've learned a lot through exploration in my efforts to assist others. When I can't find answers, I know that help is only a live chat away! I would definitely recommend Skyward to other districts. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward January 20, 2017 So glad we were able to grow together, Teresa, and turn a negative experience into such a positive one. Thank you for all you do to help your district get more out of Skyward. NW Noel W. IT Managment Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward dog water" December 7, 2023 1.0 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 [PowerSchool](https://www.capterra.com/p/175664/PowerSchool/) 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 Family and Employee Access Toolkits and Professional Development Center, to be a helpful way to learn the system and get more value from it. CT Cortney T. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy Gradebook" December 1, 2022 5.0 Pros I use this for attendance, looking up student information, and for a gradebook. The gradebook is very user friendly and easy to use. Cons The messaging center feature could use some improvements. It is not easy to respond to emails within this platform. Review Source Response from Skyward December 15, 2022 Thanks for the feedback Cortney. Making sure our attendance, gradebook, and other features for teachers in the classrooms is always a priority for our product team. SV Susan V. Insurance Agent Insurance Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Parent Review" August 23, 2022 5.0 With us having a family account, we can see both children. This makes accessing important information really easy for us! 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. Switched from [Gradelink](https://www.capterra.com/p/118900/Gradelink-SIS/) Different school Review Source Response from Skyward August 26, 2022 Thanks for your comments Susan. We're always happy to see the positive impact we are having on school-to-home communication. AD Andrew D. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Okay as a standalone " February 9, 2021 4.0 It is the only system I have used during my career, while many features are nice, there seem to be many more that are outdated and overly complicated. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward February 11, 2021 Thank you for the review and positive comments about grades and custom reports Andrew. You may want to check out the webinar we recently did on our Google Classroom integration. You should be able to find a recording of that webinar on Skydoc. AS Amy S. Teacher Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Preferred Grade Input Software" February 6, 2020 5.0 I liked Skyward a lot! It wasn't the most user-friendly software that I've used, but there are definitely some integrations it is capable of that a lot of school softwares don't have. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward February 10, 2020 We appreciate your great review Amy. Ease of use has always been a priority and we're very proud of all the partnerships we've built to help make our customers' lives easier. As for the interface, one of the goals in developing our new Qmlativ platform was to update the design and navigation to not only make it look better, but also improve the overall experience for users. VR Verified Reviewer Blogger Online Media Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Convenient student report access!" September 30, 2019 5.0 Very good. I'm up to date on my child's progress on a daily basis. Pros This is a fantastic way to keep abreast of your child's grades with individual test breakups and overall grade average with the allowance for teachers to add notes for the parents if needed. Also provides a way to email and contact the teacher. Cons There's nothing I don't like about the software. Overall great communication tool between a teacher and student's parents. Review Source RP Rachel P. Administrative Assistant Human Resources Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Reaching Parents/Guardians & Students Quickly" January 5, 2024 5.0 Pros This allows us to reach both the students and caregivers at once and have all of the information in one place. It also allows them to reach us or return a message quickly and easily. Cons If there is more than one student sometimes linked to one parent/guardian it doesn't always connect them easily. Review Source Response from Skyward February 2, 2024 Thank you for your review, Rachel! We appreciate your feedback and are happy to hear Skyward made it easier to communicate with guardians and students. Holly S. Program Director Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "For a free software system that manages my student's information, it does the job." December 5, 2017 3.0 Pros I like that I can see my students attendance and grades and I can change my information on there. I also like that there are links to district sites and information that I need. Cons It isn't designed for ease of use. I also don't like that I cannot add funds onto my student's account through the app alone, I need to go to a third party website to add funds. I also don't like that I cannot pay fees on the app, and then when I go to the website I still have to use a third party site to pay my fees. Review Source CG Crystal G. Special Education Teacher Used the software for: 2+ years ### "I am parent user for this program and I find it to be easy to use and easy to understand." March 8, 2018 5.0 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. Review Source Response from Skyward March 19, 2018 Thanks for the positive review, Crystal. We're so happy you are enjoying a better experience with Skyward! VR Verified Reviewer School Psychologist Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Skyward has value, but is difficult to use" May 29, 2019 3.0 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. Review Source Response from Skyward May 30, 2019 We're disappointed that you find Skyward difficult to use. In our experience, the two main reasons ed tech falls short of its potential are lack of buy-in from staff and lack of appropriate training. We invite you to check out the Know Your Skyward Training Options article in our newsletter to see all the Skyward training options available to you and your staff. VR Verified Reviewer Paraprofessional Primary/Secondary Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Skyward for Teachers" December 9, 2018 5.0 It has been beneficial to knowing what my paychecks will be so I can budget appropriately. An added bonus is the link to see open positions within the school system. While logged in, one can stroll through open positions, apply and receive updates about the position. As a teacher, it is user-friendly, doesn't take long to navigate through while offering many uses as stated in the pros area of this review. Pros That I have immediate access for viewing: time off, accrued sick leave/paid time off, check history, teacher certifications, W-2 information and ability to print checks easily. The application is organized and offers exactly what it claims to be. Cons The option to use the check estimator is unique that takes into account deductions. This was useful but since I changed to a new position in the school system it did not update from being salaried to hourly. I attempted to enter the hourly wages however it didn't take into account deductions and therefore wasn't very useful. It is a super option if it worked properly. 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