Class Solver

Vorteile

Simple to use, saves time for teachers and administrators.

Nachteile

A couple of editing pieces take a few clicks.

Vorteile

Class Solver saves time and creates balanced classes without much work. Set up the questions you want to ask teachers, the data you want to collect, and allow teachers to input students who should/should NOT be paired together and then let the software work its magic! If you feel like something is sub-optimal, or you need to make a change, click the "Boost" button to create the change without having to manually check to see if the change will throw something else out of whack.

Nachteile

Nothing! Everything in Class Solver is great!

Vorteile

Greatly reduced administration hours and allows us to track data across multiple years

Nachteile

User interface needs more features like selecting multiple students to make changes and sorting students and solver according to different values e.g. names, gender

Vorteile

Storage of data in a centralised place that enables the streamlined ability to make informed decisions about class placements. Oh, and the very fast turn around time from the helpdesk.

Nachteile

Nothing at this stage. Last year I requested several upgrades, all of these have occurred. Although the ability to embed student photos might be the next step (especially for the sociogram). I work MS/SS but the JS still love to have photos of students.

Vorteile

It saved countless hours for teachers, and gave them peace of mind that any last minute changes over the summer wouldn't destroy the carefully crafted class lists they'd created.

Nachteile

Occasionally the website would be a bit slow to load. It also took a bit of setup the first time, especially training teachers on how to use it (it's very user friendly but teachers are busy people), but it will get easier every year. And it still saved tons of time.

Vorteile

Once we put in all of the criteria, Class Solver provided a solution in seconds. We were able to clearly see which criteria were met and which weren't and the boost feature let us tweak the results. Class Solver is extremely flexible and we loved the way it let us set up our own characteristics to use to form the classes.

Nachteile

As with any powerful software, there is a learning curve, but it really took us a very reasonable amount of time to be up and running.

Vorteile

Class solver is easy to use, a huge time saver, balances classes in many ways with just the click of a button and makes it super easy to export class lists to then upload into PowerSchool or any other system.

Nachteile

Wish it allowed us to keep the lists in the system all year.

Vorteile

How easy it was to use, especially for teachers. If it was not friendly user for teachers, it would not have worked because I would have faced resistance among the staff. I loved that we took decisions with data/evidences.

Nachteile

The email was sent to teachers in English, and there is no option to use it entirely in French. Additionally, I really wish I could export the sociogram. Another feature that could be adjustable is the 'weight' of characteristics in the puzzle. At times, I wish certain characteristics would all end up in the same group, while at other times, I prefer to balance them among the groups.

Vorteile

The efficiently and organization of class lists.

Nachteile

Though Class Solver is a wonderful program and there are not many things I don't like about the program, two characteristics I would change are the loading process and how student information is exited.

Vorteile

I enjoyed the different characteristics and ability to keep track of total amount of students per class and as a whole.

Nachteile

Connectivity issues- sometimes connecting takes awhile

Vorteile

What I like most about Class Solver is the time it saves me in creating new classes at the start of the school year. I also like that I can use Class Solver to easily manage cabin allocations for camp.

Nachteile

There is honestly nothing that I don't like about it. If my school didn't pay for it - I would pay for it myself as it is such a time-saving program.

Vorteile

It is very user-friendly and it has saved so much time creating classlists. There are so many characteristics that can be used for each student to help place them in the ideal class grouping.

Nachteile

I haven't found anything in Class Solver that was not useful for this work.

Vorteile

Class Solver is easy to use and implement. It speaks with the other programs used by schools, which makes the process from beginning to end seamless. The algorithm allows teachers to balance the nuance of student characteristics and needs, which was never possible with the old pencil and sticky note method. I recommend this program to anyone wanting something that reduce workload and increases the likelihood of creating well-formed, considered and balanced classrooms.

Nachteile

The videos are great and help a lot to work through the process. It would be great if the company added an additional check list document to support the process as well.

Vorteile

Class Solver saved myself and my staff hours of time. It used the data we entered to make well-balanced cohorts in a matter of seconds. In the past, we spent hours studying various spreadsheets and moving names from cohort to cohort trying to create class lists that would set students and teachers up for success.

Nachteile

There are no cons necessarily. Learning a new platform always has a learning curve.

Vorteile

The ease of inputting information.
The sorting seemed to be very accurate.

Nachteile

Duplicate names in classrooms
inputting parent requests and informaitn

Vorteile

I really love the customer service. They are quick to reply and help with even the small stuff.

Nachteile

I don't have one - and that is genuine.

Vorteile

I love how easy it is to use, and how adaptable it is to our needs, and how much time it saves our teachers.

Nachteile

I would like to see it work with Skyward more seamlessly, but that being said, it only took a few minutes to upload the necessary information. It has been great for our school.

Vorteile

This software took the place of our antiquated self-created spreadsheet system and made student placement organized, efficient and successful. As one of the largest K-8 districts in Illinois, we were able to work collaboratively between grade levels and ensure that parent requests or other special requests were honored and archived for years to come. We usually spend months working on placement due to the spreadsheets not meeting our needs, this year, ClassSolver changed all of that, it was user friendly and our representative from the company customized it to meet our unique needs of being center schools. The best purchase I made all year!

Nachteile

I honestly can't think of anything that we didn't like about using this tool. Any changes we needed to make due to the size of our building and district, our representative helped us think it through and then customized to meet our needs.

Vorteile

Class Solver has allowed our school to have a platform that is reliable and easy to use as we manage shuffling hundreds of students as they progress from grade to grade. It stores the information requests from parents, teachers, and administrators so they are right in front of us as we are making the decisions.

It flags conflicts and helps us resolve them.

When we had issues or needs the customer support was excellent. They were timely and responsive. They helped us understand how to use the program better, and even uploaded files we needed to avoid lots of human error.

With 7 parallel classes per grade having a program available like this was excellent!

Nachteile

We found some trouble with viewing all 7 classes at one time unless we resized the screen. We got used to it, but for a school with as many classes as we have it took getting used to.

We also value the neighborhood as a criterion and would have liked to see the ability to use some way to harness a better tool for letting us know how far away each girl lives from the others in her class...you could set this up as a criteria within the program and I do not know of a program that does this...the company listened to these issues and worked to help us resolve...but those were the issues we had.

Vorteile

This program takes into consideration all data inputted into it, e.g. teacher requests, parent considerations, students with learning needs etc. The algorithm then works on this myriad of information and formulates the classes. Ultimately the user is still is control of the end result via the drag and drop facility. After classes have been sorted, at a glance the user can see instantly see how any manual changes made after this may overall affect class placements.

Nachteile

There is absolutely nothing I disliked about Class Solver.

Vorteile

It has provided us with a quick and systemic process to sort students into classes while still addressing their individual needs and friendship groups. It allows the people who know them well as a learner (their teachers) to have full input. Initial drafts can be shared and then further discussion, if needed, can be undertaken. Our school also asks for specific feedback from parents and students which can then be submitted using the categoreies.

Nachteile

We haven't found any to date, however, it is important to walk staff through how it works and give them time to 'play' with it , to build their trust.

Vorteile

I found that inputting student data was very easy. It is very intuitive and makes planning very easy. Having the opportunity to create your own categories encourages the team to have discussions about the criteria for placing students in classes.

Nachteile

Honestly, it works so well, I have nothing else to add.

Vorteile

What I like most about Class Solver is the ease of use. It is very easy to customize the program for your schools indivdual needs and wants. For instance we wanted to separate students who had birthdays early in the year and late in the year. We were able to easily add the birthday characteristic.

Nachteile

There was only one minor con that I had with the program and that was how the class list were presented. Although the program listed the number of males and females in the class, I would have liked to see a total so that I could quickly see which classes were high or low in the number of students.

Vorteile

Ease of implementation, customization options, time saver, has revolutionized thoughtful, intentional class placement of students

Nachteile

Hard to think of anything. If there was to be one thing I would recommend time stamping 'requests' so that, when archived, you can remember what year the requests were submitted

Vorteile

The product is easy to use. It's a great time saver and does most of the work for you as long as you input as much information as possible. It's great to have a record of all the selections that have been made by students, also great for anyone to pick up. Doesn't rely on "a keeper of information", the product is the keeper.

Nachteile

We can't fault the product, it has been a perfect for our team!

Vorteile

Can be personalised to the characteristics most appropriate to your own environment
Support videos are extremely easy to follow
Can be started and revisited at any time
Straight forward process
Efficient support access
The most beneficial aspect is the BOOST facility to ensure that if you have to change a student it recalibrates to ensure friendships and characteristics are not compromised.

Nachteile

to this point we have not had any concerns about the program.

Vorteile

Class Solver is very easy to use and comes with clear self help videos to guide you. I love how we can lock certain students in to classes, add student, teacher or parent requests and easily move students from class to class. The program allows you to set your own priority order for class placements and will alert you to possible placement concerns.

Nachteile

I would love to be able to print the classes individual or by teaching teams rather than by year level only

Vorteile

Very easy to use after the initial setup. [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] does an amazing job of helping complete the setup and personalizing it to fit your school. Staff felt it was very easy to use and I would recommend any school organization to contact them as they will certainly be able to fit all school's needs.

Nachteile

The initial setup (prior to meeting with [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN]) was difficult but after meeting with [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] it all made sense. Not really a con as I was able to meet with him and he walked us through so just make sure to take advantage and meet with a representative from Class Solver prior to doing anything in the porgram.

Vorteile

The software offers our school a simple solution to gaining an important overview of our classes needs, ensuring no one class is impacted more than an another by students with higher learning needs. It also allows us to ensure students are placed with friends and away from distractions.

Nachteile

Sometimes the imports can be time consuming/confusing to import and see when data has been accurately input.

Vorteile

From the beginning this program has been a life saver. The customer service team assisted with the initial input of information, and has been there each step of the way! The color coding system allows the user to easily compare characteristics across classes. The students can easily be moved and locked in to ensure balanced classes.

Nachteile

When working with my team of administrators, I have to refresh my screen is someone else moves a students.

Vorteile

Ease of use.
Saves us HOURS of work as opposed to doing it all by hand.
Responsiveness of staff.

Nachteile

Honestly - the only way it could eb improved is by making it free.

Vorteile

How it sorts classes using criteria and requests.
Alerts you when a request isn’t met
Easy to export / print
Easy to add students
Easy to download data

Nachteile

Would like student page to have different sorts for each column.
Would like to add how many of each year level in composite classes
Requests that are rolled over include date of request.

Vorteile

The best feature of this program is the fast, accurate placement of students for the following school year.

Nachteile

I would like to be able to print in color what I see on the screen. For example, the characteristic blue/gold day would print the students as highlighted blue and gold just like the computer screen shows.

Vorteile

Class Solver is very user friendly. It is intuitive to how I wanted to distribute classes and it was easy to make any changes. The customer service was exemplary, they really want to make sure that the product does exactly what you want it to. I was constantly amazed by their attention to detail and timeliness.

Nachteile

Nothing, all aspects of Class Solver are exceptional.

Vorteile

The fact that you can add many sub categories to consider when grouping students. Each sub level is colour coded.

Nachteile

When you boost you lose record of previous boost.

Vorteile

The ease and practicality of it. You can set the parameters, enter the data you want, in the priority you want, and off it goes. It even keeps it for you!

Nachteile

Nothing, it really is amazing. Before we had class solver, making classes for the next year was a massive headache. Now it’s much simpler and changes are easier to track.

Vorteile

The software is very easy to use and the customer support from Class Solver is unmatched.

Nachteile

I did not find any cons and any time I needed support the company was quick to respond.

Vorteile

Teachers have the ability to add friendships and separate from peers that encourage poor choices. When students are moved to another class, flags appear if there is any problem with the new placement. It really saves on a lot of headaches and misplacements.

Nachteile

Would love for ClassSolver to connect automatically to our county platform for scheduling classes.

Vorteile

The best part of this program was the ease of use and the amount of time that it saved. It also made things clear to see and we were able to set up our classes to the best of our abilities needing very few changes once the school year began.

Nachteile

Because we have so many classes for each grade, it was hard to see all of the classes once they were created side by side on the screen without having to scroll.

Vorteile

Managing class placement is challenging at the best of times, but with Covid we often need to adjust quickly. Class Solver has been invaluable. We’ve been able to create new class lists in minutes while also meeting the new Covid-safe requirements for our district.

Nachteile

I truly enjoyed it all and believe they can customize it to your schools needs.

Vorteile

Class Solver is extremely easy to use and saves an enormous amount of time. In the past, developing class lists has was a process that took three to four weeks of time. Using Class Solver was successful in using our time more effectively and efficiently.

Nachteile

There is nothing that I don't like about Class Solver!

Vorteile

Class Solver software saved our school hours and hours of time making classes for the next school year. It was easy to use and the tech support was outstanding even though they are based in Australia!!

Nachteile

Overall I was very pleased and don't have any cons to the program

Vorteile

Easy to use, creates balanced classes, and helps manage our intake data

Nachteile

Some issues around uploading data but these can be cleaned up.