Long gone are the days of paper report-cards.
From the rockiest math tests to the research papers we aren’t exactly proud of, online grade-tracking systems have become the modern District 7 student’s constant educational companion.
TigerView used to be that system for the district, until it switched to PowerSchool near the beginning of this school year. While the new system may have valuable assets for teachers, some high school students are grieving their beloved TigerView.
A Schoology survey of 285 students showed that 84.4% think TigerView was more user-friendly and easier to navigate than PowerSchool, and 87.4% think TigerView was easier to set up.
Among those missing the retired program is senior Kirra Reed, who considers a grade-tracking system to be very impactful.
“It is very important to have a functioning grade program because there are many students that like to keep up with their grades, attendance and teacher’s commentary,” she said.
Senior Cooper Turner said he checks his grades every day.
“I liked TigerView because it was easy to use and it compiled lots of valuable information in one place,” he said.
Turner feels that TigerView had “all the same stuff just better.” He dislikes PowerSchool’s user-interface and lack of a weekly calendar feature, which he said was helpful for staying organized when he was absent.
Senior Ella Sedabres also checks her grades every day. She thinks that PowerSchool is geared toward the wrong group.
“I dislike that PowerSchool has more accessible options for parents than students, as they are our grades.”
But for Reed, the switch was more than just an unwelcome change.
“Because of having to switch to PowerSchool, my dad wasn’t able to login and register me properly,” she said. “ … I was told that I couldn’t come back to school until that registration was properly taken care of. I was out for a week before we got everything situated.”
Reed’s father is a truck driver and can’t always be home to help resolve those situations. She said the switch to PowerSchool made it all the more confusing.
Turner has also had trouble logging in to the new system. He can only access his grades through his parents’ portal.
“ … I don’t even know if I have a fully set-up account,” he said.
Some students have found bright sides. Freshman Blake Chrenka said he misses TigerView’s easy navigation, but he appreciates that PowerSchool shows him his percent of attendance.
“I think TigerView is easier to access, but I have been using it my whole life,” he said.
Physics teacher Marvin Allen views the change in an even more positive light. He said that PowerSchool is better suited to help kids who need learning accommodations.
“In both systems we would get medical alerts, meaning I could know if you were allergic to something,” he said. “With PowerSchool I still have that, but I also have those learning documents that some kids have, such as IEPs and 504s.”
Those documents are visible each time Mr. Allen takes attendance or looks at a seating chart. He said this feature reminds him what each student needs and how he can help them learn.
“Under the old system, I’d have to constantly be going back to my email and looking through all the names and trying to match people with classrooms. Here, it’s all sorted for me, so I’ve really, really liked that,” he said. “That’s sort of been my favorite tool so far.”
