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Schools keep using spreadsheets because they can be familiar, inexpensive, and adaptable to local tasks—while moving to a dedicated system takes planning, training, and money. That does not mean every school relies on spreadsheets, or that they are the right tool for every job. Countries and schools use different mixes of paper, spreadsheets, and software, and there is no current, reliable figure here for how many schools use spreadsheets.
What schools use spreadsheets for
Spreadsheets can help staff record, organise, interpret, and export information for local administrative or teaching-related tasks. Their appeal is that a school can shape a sheet around its own fields and reporting needs rather than wait for a standard workflow to fit. In practice, spreadsheets may sit alongside paper records and dedicated software rather than replace them entirely.
That variation matters: UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics describes countries using a mix of paper, spreadsheets, and online or offline software to collect school data, with practices differing by country. It does not publish a spreadsheet-use rate. UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Education Management Information Systems
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The clearest quantified evidence of their appeal is historical and specific to England. In a 2005 National Foundation for Educational Research study, respondents who listed advantages of data-management tools often valued ease of use, interpreting information, entering their own data, exportability, and cost. These percentages describe responses in that study, not current national usage or global practice.
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| Reported advantage | Share of respondents listing advantages |
|---|---|
| Easy to use | 71.7% |
| Easy to interpret information | 67.9% |
| Easy to enter their own data | 67.4% |
| Data easily exportable | 55.6% |
| Inexpensive system | 51.3% |
The study found positive responses to school-devised systems and Excel spreadsheets for teaching and learning. Its age means it should be read as evidence of what users valued at the time, not as a measure of today’s spreadsheet use. National Foundation for Educational Research: Data management and use in schools
What a dedicated student information system adds
A student information system (SIS), also called a management information system (MIS) in some contexts, can bring records and recurring processes into a more connected structure. OECD describes systems that may organise student demographics, classes, schedules, parent information, attendance, grades, and other learning information. Longitudinal information systems connect student-level data gathered at different times and can support reporting, visualisation, and analysis.
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Those capabilities matter when staff need a consistent view across years, standardised administrative processes, or repeatable reports. They do not establish that any particular product will improve outcomes or make a spreadsheet-to-system migration successful. The appropriate choice depends on the school’s tasks and constraints. OECD: Education
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Changing tools costs more than the software purchase. In England’s 2024–25 Technology in Schools Survey, 85% of teachers reported budget constraints and 85% reported high technology costs as barriers to greater technology uptake. School leaders also cited staff skills and confidence, the time and cost of training, connectivity, safeguarding and data concerns, and limited procurement guidance. These are broad technology-adoption findings; the survey does not show that these factors specifically cause schools to retain spreadsheets.
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For leaders, the practical implication is to count the work of implementation as well as the licence or purchase price: staff time, training, support, connectivity needs, data handling, and any disruption to established processes. The survey reported that 39% of school leaders cited limited procurement guidance as a barrier to increased technology uptake in England. Department for Education: Technology in schools survey 2024 to 2025
When a school should consider replacing spreadsheets
There is no universal point at which spreadsheets become unsuitable. A school can assess the decision against its actual work rather than treating a new system as an automatic upgrade.
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- 【Funny Office Gift】: This notebook is perfect for a funny gift for your friends, colleagues, workmates, coworkers, family members, during Administrative Day, Boss's Day, Colleague's Birthday, Corporate Events, Company Party, Company Anniversary, Office Party, Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other holiday. Gifting these amusing notebook to show support and appreciation for those who help you everyday in a humorous way.
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- 【Premium Quality】: Crafted with precision and attention to detail. The funny notebook's cover is thickened, and we have made it waterproof and anti-scratch treatment to protect the inner paper from curling and flattening, making it more wear-resistant and durable.
- Fit: Can the current approach capture the data and produce the reports the school genuinely needs?
- Continuity: Do staff need to connect student-level records over time?
- Usability: Can the people who enter and interpret the data use the proposed system, and is training feasible?
- Reporting and portability: Can the school get usable reports and export its information in workable formats?
- Stewardship and terms: Are data access, responsibilities, safeguarding, and supplier terms acceptable?
- Operational requirements: What connectivity, implementation support, and ongoing staff capacity does the system require?
- Total cost: Include procurement, setup, training, support, and transition effort—not only the quoted software cost.
- Purpose: Is every collected field necessary? England’s Data Management Review Group calls for “ensuring that every data collection has a clear purpose, and that the process is as efficient as possible.” Department for Education: Data Management Review Group report
For schools in England, the Department for Education’s MIS selection guidance, updated 17 July 2026, is a procurement reference. It says schools should include its core principles in procurement and require prospective suppliers to confirm acceptance. The guidance states: “An appropriate MIS can have a clear impact on pupil outcomes and staff workload.” That is official guidance language, not a measured estimate of causal impact. Department for Education: How to choose a management information system (MIS) for your school
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Plan implementation, not just selection
Choosing software is only one part of a change. Department for Education implementation research highlights preparation, training, support, and monitoring as important processes. A school evaluating an MIS should therefore ask how staff will learn the new workflows, what help will be available during transition, and how the school will check whether the system is serving its intended purpose. Department for Education: Implementing your school management information system
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The sources do not compare vendors or identify a universally best option. The sensible outcome may be a dedicated system for connected, recurring records and spreadsheets for limited local tasks—or a different mix that fits the school’s needs, resources, and data responsibilities.
Quick Recap
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