Welcome to your PowerSchool Basic Searches Tutorial! Whether you're brand new or looking for a refresher, this guide will walk you through the essential tools and techniques to navigate and search within PowerSchool effectively.
A search command is your way of asking PowerSchool for specific data. It must include:
Field Name: What you're looking for (e.g., Grade_Level)
Comparator: How you're comparing it (e.g., =, <, >=)
Search Argument: The value you're looking for (e.g., 12)
📝 Example: Grade_Level = 12
Used to define how to compare a field to a value. Examples:
= equal to
!= not equal to
> greater than
< less than
>= greater than or equal to
<= less than or equal to
📝 Example: I am searching for all my students in the appropriate grades for the SCDE Climate Survey, I would type in the following command and change the comparator to acquire the grades applicable:
"Grade_Level > 3"
The View Field List link on the start page shows all searchable fields in the Student Table. This includes:
Standard Fields
Custom Fields (S_SC_STU_...)
Over 1,587 searchable fields
✅ Tips:
Spelling matters (but case doesn’t)
Underscores (_) must be used accurately
🔍 Search Type ✅ Command
Active students as of Jan 10 *as_of=01/10/2025
Birthdays in November birthday >= 11/1; birthday <= 11/31
Students in fewer than 6 classes *number_of_classes < 6
All active AND inactive as of 8/20/18 / *as_of = 8/20/18
Students with a hyphen in their name @-
You can mix and match search commands to fine-tune your results:
🔗 Symbol 🔎 Function 📘 Example
; AND (all conditions must be met) exitcode=W21; exitdate>8/20/2018
& AND after results Gender=F, then &last_name=Brown
+ OR (combine multiple groups) Grade_Level=1, then +Grade_Level=2
/ Include inactive students /Grade_Level=12
🚨 Order Matters:
Use '&' or '+' before using '/' in a search.
Search by Students, Staff, or Contacts
Options vary based on your permissions
Quickly select search fields without needing exact field names
Auto-suggest as you type
Can be disabled under Manage Profile
Status Color
Active Blue
Inactive Gray
📌 Use / before a search to include inactive students in your results.
You can only search within the Students table or its related database extension fields
Always Clear All to reset your search if results are not showing as expected
Be cautious with spelling and underscores in field names
Clicking on fields in the View Field List adds them to your search area for convenience
💡 PowerSchool’s full search command reference: 👉 Various Student Search Commands – PowerSchool Community
📖 PowerSchool Help Guide: 👉 About Searching – PowerSchool Documentation