How to Search in PowerSchool

Student Search

Learning how to perform searches is the key to using PowerSchool, since you select a student or group of students with whom you are going to work. Before you can do any type of work on a student's record or on a group's records, select the individual or group. By performing a search, you make such a selection. The simplest search finds just one student, but it is possible to perform searches that are more complex.

When performing both simple and advanced searches, it is important to keep in the mind the following:

Any work with student records always begins with a search. You must tell PowerSchool which records to retrieve to work with an individual student record or a group of students.
Enter field names in the Search field exactly as they are written in the field list. PowerSchool cannot find a field when its spelling does not match the fields in PowerSchool. Placement of underscores (_) is just as important. To verify the correct spelling of a field, click View Field List on the PowerSchool start page.
While the spelling of the field name is important, the case is not. Enter gender=f, Gender=F, GENDer=F, or any variation thereof. PowerSchool searches are not case-sensitive.
Separate different search criteria in the command line with a semicolon (;).

Searching for Student Records

PowerSchool provides powerful tools to search the database of students at your school. On the start page, use the box labeled "Search Students" to find students by surname. For example, enter MA to find all students whose last names begin with MA.

Field/Value Searching

PowerSchool stores student information in fields. For example, the "first_name" field stores the students' first names. The "DOB" filed stores the students' date-of-birth. Search the various student fields based on the information you are looking for.

The following is an example of how to search student records.

Suppose you would like to find all of the students in your school whose first name is Jenny. Type the following into the search box:

first_name=jenny

PowerSchool displays the search results for all students named Jenny. This is a search command line; a line of text that is commanding PowerSchool to perform a search.

Every search command line is broken into three parts: a field name (such as first_name or grade_level or DOB); a comparator (such as =); and the search argument itself (in the example, jenny is the search argument).

The general format is:

[field name] [comparator] [search argument]

On the start page, select the View Field List link below the Search Students box to view a list of available field names.

The following table lists the comparators you can use:

Comparator	Meaning
=	equals
<	is less than
>	is greater than
<=	is less than or equal to
>=	is greater than or equal to
#	does not equal
in	is [field] present in the search argument?
contains	is the search argument contained in the [field]?
!contain	is the search argument not contained in the [field]?
@	wildcard

The comparator "in" is a powerful tool that allows you to verify if the value of the field matches any search argument in a list you provide. For example, to obtain a single list of all 9th, 10th, and 11th graders in your school, enter the following search command line:

grade_level in 9,10,11

PowerSchool displays all students whose grade level is contained in the list 9, 10, and 11. In this example, the field is "grade_level", the comparator is "in", and the search argument is "9,10,11". The search function looks at the specified field for every student and checks to see if that field matches anything in the search argument specified. When entering a search command line, separate a list of items in a search argument with commas.

The comparator "contains" is another powerful search tool. For example, you want to find all of the students in your school who live on Cherry Lane. Enter the following search command line:

mailing_street contains Cherry Lane

PowerSchool displays all students with Cherry Lane appearing in the mailing_street field. It does not matter if the mailing_street field is 194 Cherry Lane, or 24230 Cherry Lane Parkway; anything that contains Cherry Lane is considered a match.

The comparator "!contain" provides another search function. For example, you wanted to find all of the students in your school who do not live on Cherry Lane. Enter the following search command line:

mailing_street !contain Cherry Lane

PowerSchool displays all students with Cherry Lane not appearing anywhere in the mailing_street field. It does not matter if the mailing_street field is 194 Cherry Lane, or 24230 Cherry Lane Parkway; anything that contains Cherry Lane is not considered a match.

The wildcard "@" provides additional search flexibility. For example, you want to find all of the students whose first names started with jen. Enter the following search command line:

first_name = jen@

PowerSchool displays all students with the first name that begins with jen.

Special Groups

In addition to simple field/value searching, you may search for special groups, such as "transferred-in". With a single command in the search field, you can select a set of students using criteria which would be impossible to reproduce using simple field/value searching, and which would take a significant amount of effort to produce using the "search in results" functionality.

Search

Who is Selected

transferred-in

All students who have been transferred into this school, but not yet re-enrolled. In database terms, this means that the "SchoolID" is for the current school, but the "Enrollment_SchoolID" is for some other school, AND that the "Enroll_Status" field is "2" ("Transferred Out"). The "/" prefix is implied on this search. This is the equivalent of searching "/Enroll_Status=2", "&/Enrollment_SchoolID#[my school number]".

Search Prefixes

There are three search prefixes you may wish to use. A search prefix adjusts how the search is carried out. Note that you will always follow the prefix by a search term; a prefix is never valid all by itself on the search line.

Prefix	Effect on Search Line
/	Include non-active students. Normal searches are restricted to the actively enrolled student body of the school. However, especially when transferring students in from another school, you may sometimes wish to locate students who are no longer or not yet active. Use this prefix to search across ALL students (such as, active and inactive). Note that this may be placed AFTER (not before) a "+" or "&" prefix.
&	Search within results. For example, to find all students transferred in after 4/10/2006, search first for "transferred-in", then search for "&/ExitDate>4/10/2006". Note that the "&" must come BEFORE any "/" prefix. Note: When the Advanced checkbox is selected, this comparator does not function. You can use the Within button in its place. For more information, see Search Results/Current Student Selection.
+	Add results of new search. For example, to find all tenth graders and all ninth graders with the field "InstrLevel" set to "Advanced" you might search for "Grade_Level=9" and then "&InstrLevel=Advanced", and finally for "+Grade_Level=10". Note that the "+" must come BEFORE any "/" prefix. Note: When the Advanced checkbox is selected, this comparator does not function. You can use the Add button in its place. For more information, see Search Results/Current Student Selection.

Search Codes

PowerSchool has developed a number of Search Codes that are complex searches that requires the database to perform a calculation before returning the results.

Search Students Page

When first signing in, the main part of the start page displays the Search Students function. Additionally, you can click the PowerSchool logo from any page in PowerSchool to access the Search Students function.

Search Students

The following information can be used to search for students:

Field	Description
[Search Students]	Enter search criteria in the search field. If Smart Search is enabled, as you begin entering your search criteria, PowerSchool automatically provides a drop-down list of suggestions that you may choose from. For more information, see Smart Search.
[Search Icon]	Click to initiate the search.
Advanced	Do one of the following: Leave the checkbox blank to select a student or group of students as your current student selection. Select the checkbox to search for and then select a student or group of students as your current student selection. Note: By default, the checkbox is not selected.
View Field List	Click to view the PowerSchool Field List pop-up, which displays a list of all fields that can be used to perform a student search. For more information, How to Search for Students by Other Fields. Note: Database extension fields can be selected from the pop-up, but any associated one-to-many tables are not searchable at this time. For more information, see Database Extensionsin the System Administrator User Guide available on PowerSource.

Browse Students

The following information can be used to browse for students:

Field	Description
[Alphabet]	Click a letter of the alphabet to display a list of students whose last names begin with the selected letter. For example, if you click B, the system displays the students at your school whose last names begin with a "B". For more information, see, How to Select an Individual Student by Last Name.
[Grade]	Click a number to display a list of students in the selected grade. If you click 9, the system displays a list of ninth graders at your school. For more information, see How to Search for Students by Grade Level.
[Gender]	Click M to display a list of all the male students at your school. Click F to display a list of all the female students at your school. For more information, see How to Search for Students by Gender.
All	Click to display a list of all active students at your school. For more information, see How to Search for All Active Students.
Stored Searches	Click to create or work with a saved list of preset search criteria used to quickly find groups of students. For more information, see Stored Searches.
Stored Selections	Click to create or work with a saved list of students. For more information, see Stored Selections.

Current Student Selection

When the Advanced checkbox is not selected, the following options are available:

Note: For more information, see How to Set the Current Student Selection

Field	Description
[Student]	The following information displays for each student matching your search criteria: Student Student Number Grade Level Date of Birth Social Security Number Click a student's name to view the student pages for this student. Note: Information appears based on Select Student Options settings. For more information, see Select Student Options Settings.
Select By Hand	Click to select students by hand. Note: For more information, see How to Select a Group of Students by Hand.
[Select Function]	Click the arrow and choose a group function from the pop-up menu to begin working with your current student selection. The selected group function page appears. Note: By default, this button appears as Select Function. Once a function has been selected, the button appears as your selection for up to three days (if another function is not selected before then). Note: For more information, see Select a Group of Students.

Search Results/Current Student Selection

When the Advanced checkbox is selected, the following options are available:

Note: For more information, see How to Set the Current Student Selection using the Advanced Setting.

Note: When the Advanced checkbox is selected, the ampersand (&) and plus (+) comparators do not function. You can use the Addbutton in place of the plus (+) comparator and the Within button in place of the ampersand (&) comparator.

Search Results
Field	Description
[Student]	Do one or more of the following: Select the checkbox in the header row to select all students. Deselect the checkbox in the header row to deselect all students. Select the checkbox next to each student you want to work with. Deselect the checkbox next to each student you do not want to work with.
Student	The student’s last and first name.
Set	Click to make the selected students in the Search Results section the current selection. Selected students appear in the Current Student Selection section.
Add	Click to add the selected students in the Search Results section to the current selection. Selected students appear in the Current Student Selection section.
Subtract	Click to remove the selected students in the Search Results section from the current selection. Selected students no longer appear in the Current Student Selection section.
Within	Click to adjust the current selection to only the selected students in the Search Results section. Only the selected students appear in the Current Student Selection section.

Current Student Selection
[Student]	The following information displays for each student matching your search criteria: Student Student Number Grade Level Date of Birth Social Security Number Click a student's name to view the student pages for this student. Note: Information appears based on Select Student Options settings. For more information, see Select Student Options Settings.
Select By Hand	Click to select students by hand. Note: For more information, see How to Select a Group of Students by Hand.
[Select Function]	Click the arrow and choose a group function from the pop-up menu to begin working with your current student selection. The selected group function page appears. Note: By default, this button appears as Select Function. Once a function has been selected, the button appears as your selection for up to three days (if another function is not selected before then). Note: For more information, see Select a Group of Students.