PowerSchool and Skyward become first partners to certify on Ed-Fi, signaling major shift in education technology
September 8, 2017 – AUSTIN, Texas – Ed-Fi Alliance, LLC, dedicated to boosting student achievement by empowering educators with comprehensive insights using a simple, secure standard that connects all educational data systems, today announced the largest Student Information System (SIS) vendors in the education technology market – PowerSchool and Skyward, Inc. – have certified on the Ed-Fi Data Standard.
“This is a pivotal moment not only for the community of education and technology leaders committed to driving data system interoperability, but for the education industry as a whole,” said Troy Wheeler, president of Ed-Fi Alliance. “The certification of products from these vendors on the data standard is an exciting moment, prompting a significant step toward the future of how we manage, and ultimately use, education data to better support our educators and students across the country.”
By certifying on Ed-Fi, SIS providers are signaling their support for teacher choice. While the SIS remains the center of school technology systems, more and more educators are taking advantage of the wealth of highly specialized teaching and learning tools. Connecting these systems through a data standard is essential for seamless data integration between the SIS and other programs, and building on the data standard provides districts, schools and educators the ability to easily plug in the tools and applications of their choice directly into these systems.
“PowerSchool has hundreds of districts in several states using Ed-Fi to deliver actionable data in real time,” said Hardeep Gulati, CEO of PowerSchool. “By ensuring student data in PowerSchool systems meets Ed-Fi standards and can be accessed across multiple systems and applications in a seamless and actionable way, we are saving teachers valuable time and reducing administrative costs. The time we give back to teachers will allow educators to focus their energy on personalizing instruction to reach each and every student in a meaningful way.”
“Certifying on Ed-Fi will help our district partners maximize their investments in technology,” said Ray Ackerlund, chief marketing officer of Skyward. “More importantly, connecting the data from these systems will give educators more clarity and precision which will ultimately lead to better student learning.”
###
About Ed-Fi
Ed-Fi securely and seamlessly connects educational data systems. A not-for-profit organization fully funded by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Ed-Fi aims to boost student achievement by empowering educators with comprehensive insight into their students.
Founded in 2012, Ed-Fi aims to streamline data management in school districts and states across the country. By allowing schools to integrate the data previously siloed within disconnected tools and software—and organizing it through a single, secure data standard —Ed-Fi finally solves one of the country’s most perplexing educational challenges: how to get a complete, accurate view of individual student achievement.
Contact: Caroline Kazmierski
Ed-Fi Alliance
(512) 600-3613
