SIS Compare and Contrast

So . . . STI's Information NOW and Pearson's Powerschool were the two options left on the table in late June, 2010. Our school, PK-12 plus Advancement, Business Office, and Administration, were all making the leap together to a significant SIS upgrade. Both programs offered the following services, to name a few:

Accounts Payable
Accounts Receivable
Admissions Management
Alumni Management
Assessment Management
Attendance Management
Class Scheduling
Donor Management
Enrollment Management
Gradebook
Parent & Student Portal Interfaces
Reporting
Student Database

Powerschool offered more customization options (which appealed to me and other techie staff), as well as a VERY cool calendar option. InfoNOW, however, had a big lead in the data transfer (importing and exporting) because we were already using their older system. This, in the end, was the tipping point.

As I researched these two programs more, security was a very interesting side I had not considered. STI's site was very specific, listing fields that can be made read-only or hidden, various security levels, usage permission only for the students you impact, and strict administration/permission controls. Pearson's site mentioned different levels of access, but was much more clear on the privacy end. Their website has a built-in privacy policy that is a link on every page. The language here was very similar to FERPA, except that it allows release of some info. to affiliates and promises “commercially reasonable care.” In other words, their privacy rules aren't as stringent as schools'. As to how to get access, both of these programs (and the others I've found) are fee-based. The district pays a fee (usually per-student, not per-user) and then the company gives them the power to set up user accounts.

So, all in all, STI was a good choice for our school. It's used for all of the tasks listed above, but the daily jobs I use most focus on tracking attendance and grades. The nicest part of using the same system for everyone is that I can go back and look at previous years' grades and attendance for students I teach. I can also see their standardized test scores without having to go dig up their cums. For 2011-2012, these records will only be one year deep (we opted not to hand-enter all of the old records). However, as we use the system longer, this will help us to see trends for individual students and for groups/classes, right alongside their current grades and attendance. That part is very exciting, and will ultimately be well worth the year of frustrations in getting to know and manage this new system.