PowerSchool app: the tool that never was (Editorial)
More stories from Carter Smith
PowerSchool sends popup notifications to students phones, as well as the app showing live updates of grades.
In the Carlisle Area School District, students and parents are able to monitor grades through a program called PowerSchool. Earlier this decade, the company released a mobile app so that users could monitor their grades instantaneously. While this app is meant to aid families, in recent years, the resource has proved to be a substantial distraction.
The PowerSchool app, just like many social media platforms, provides users with live updates. This application shows students their grades immediately as they are put into the program. The various assignments added by teachers show students an average grade for each class. Contrary to the intention of the app, students often view these grades as if they are final. This reality results in mass confusion for students and parents and a constant headache for teachers.
Freshman Cameron Lyons is new to the district and used a different system at his former school. Lyons explained how he is not a fan of the system his new school uses.
“The PowerSchool app really creates a lot of unneeded stress for me,” said Lyons. “For example, I was absent from school for a day earlier this year, and I had several assignments entered into PowerSchool as zeros even though I had not yet been given the assignment. My average grades all dropped, and I had a bit of a panic attack. Even though my grades would eventually change, the app was still able to deceive me at the moment.”
Teachers, on the other hand, have to deal with a whole different side of the issue. When teachers finish grading an assignment, they enter points directly into PowerSchool, mostly as a form of organization.
CHS French teacher, Cynthia Lathrop, expressed her opinion on the application.
“I see firsthand how much of a stressor PowerSchool can be for students,” Lathrop said. “Immediately after I enter an assignment, I get emails from students asking why they got a certain grade, or why their grade was not put in at all. I then have to explain to them exactly why they earned the grade they receive, or that I simply have not gotten to their assignment yet.”
The PowerSchool app also provides its users with popup notifications, which often are a distraction to students within themselves. A study published by an organization called Localystics showed that app notifications boost user engagement 88%. This means that students are much more likely to check the PowerSchool app, due to the fact that the program automatically enables instant notifications.
The bottom line is, the PowerSchool app can be helpful to students, but obsessing over grades can be nothing more than a hindrance. If students successfully complete their work and study for their tests, worrying about PowerSchool is merely a distraction.
Disclaimer: Articles designated as “Editorial” represent the views and opinions of the author, not the 2018-2019 Periscope staff, CHS/CASD administration, or the CHS student body.
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Carter Smith is a freshman at Carlisle High School. Although he just started high school, he is already immersing himself in several extracurricular activities...
theresa • Oct 5, 2020 at 11:13 am
Great article! This app is pretty worthless in so many ways. You can’t, as a parent, even get a simple notification that an assignment is marked late or missing. So stupid. And don’t get me started on Canvas.
Carolyn Oates • Oct 19, 2019 at 3:47 pm
Teachers can choose when to publish grades. Some teachers publish all assignment grades beforehand… And you get the results mentioned.
Jacob Bream • Mar 21, 2019 at 5:46 pm
I can say that I always check my Powerschool, sort of like it was another social media platform. Also, I get very uneasy as notifications come up on my phone from powerschool. I think that powerschool should only be accessible online, that way students do not get stressed when a notification pops up.
Abbey Birely • Mar 21, 2019 at 12:27 pm
Power School I swear is the bane of my existence. I mean yeah what kid doesn’t stress out over grades, but the formatting and the way it is set up doesn’t necessarily help when your mom grounds you every week for a single F on any assignment within that week, which is A LOT harder than anyone would ever think. especially when the grade date is the day it gets put in not the day it was actually taken.
Power School as definitely made me acknowledge my grades more and work to figure out what is wrong, but the fact that they can change instantly over a minor mistake on either the teachers part or students part, causes A TON of stress.
but on the other hand the fact it actually shows you what the assignment was and how it can effect your grade can be begrudgingly helpful..
Grace Colestock • Mar 21, 2019 at 10:59 am
I think I have to agree that PowerSchool can be the root of a lot of stress for students. We like to have quick access to our grades and to be able to know immediately what we got on a test, but at the same time, it isn’t always helpful. It can be consuming when we are constantly worried about checking PowerSchool and wondering what our grades are. I think it is important to find a balance between checking our grades, and taking a break from PowerSchool.