--- title: "Skyward Student Management Suite Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Skyward Student Management Suite the right Access Governance solution for you? Explore 157 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" publication_date: "2026-10-21" --- Skyward Student Management Suite 4.2 (157) [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 October 21st, 2026 # Reviews of Skyward Student Management Suite Ease of use 3.9 Customer Service 4.0 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Teresa L CounselorEducation Management, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I like the fact it was secure and that it made it easy to manage grades for both teachers and students.“ August 29, 2026 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 “Honestly, it's an outdated system with a terribly overcomplicated setup, and the worst setup ever.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 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 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 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 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 157 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 [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. Ryan W. Parent Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "How Does Any School District Use This Garbage?" September 29, 2026 1.0 Pitiful. Clean this garbage website up to make it more user friendly for starters. Then, add email threading that allows the parents to reply directly within an email rather than having to login. Pros Not a darn thing. How in the heck does this management software have anything other than a 1 star review? The software is so convoluted and confusing I want to just switch back to paper notices for everything. Cons Everything. I don't like the layout, it's FAR too cluttered. I don't like that I get 12 emails a day from both of my kids schools. I don't like that I have to decode abbreviations to figure out report cards. I don't like that you can't simply reply from an email to respond to a teacher's email - I have to login to this god forsaken website and reply there. This isn't making communication easier, it puts an extra path in the way. Review Source 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. 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! 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. GM Gjanden M. PARENT OF STUDENTS Human Resources Used the software for: 2+ years ### "An Awful Experience for Two Household Families" February 3, 2022 1.0 As a parent of children in a two household family, Skyward has been nothing short of a frustrating experience. The system designates the categories of Family 1 and Family 2. Being listed as Family 2 means that I get excluded from important communications, am restricted from scheduling parent teacher conferences, and at one point was told I could not check out my own child from school to go to a dentist's appointment. I have voiced these concerns multiple times in my district only to be informed that the frustrations I have voiced are voiced several times over by other parents and that Skyward has done nothing to address these complaints. It appears that NO consideration was given in the design, or implementation of two household families who share the responsibility of raising their kids. For context, my ex and I share 50/50 joint physical and legal custody which means I am equally responsible for their financial, physical, and educational wellbeing. 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. Review Source Response from Skyward February 4, 2022 Obviously, we are disappointed about your experience with Skyward. We can't tell from this review if you are using our SMS 2.0 or Qmlativ platform. In either case we definitely have options for F2 to see and receive information, but the solutions differ. The software definitely does not make staff deny direct access to their kids. We recommend working with your children's district on this issue and visiting our Family Access Resource Toolkits on our website to help you get more from 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. 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.