2026 Buyer's Guide
The Best Classroom Management Software for Teachers
"Classroom management software" means two different things. This guide untangles them so you pick the right tool — written by a working K-12 teacher.
First, the big distinction
When teachers search for "classroom management software," they're usually after one of two completely different things:
- ADevice & screen monitoring — see and control student screens, lock devices, limit websites, and keep students on task in a 1:1 device program. Examples: GoGuardian Teacher, LanSchool, Securly Classroom.
- BRunning your class day-to-day — assignments, grades, attendance, behavior, and engagement. Examples: Google Classroom, ClassDojo, Level Up Classroom.
They're not competitors — many schools run one of each. Below, both categories are covered so you can pick the right combination.
How to choose: If your problem is "students wander off-task on Chromebooks," you want a monitoring tool — and that choice is usually made by your school's IT department, because it has to be deployed to managed devices. If your problem is "I need to run grades, assignments, and engagement without juggling five apps," you want a class platform, and that choice is yours as the teacher.
Category A — Device & screen monitoring
For keeping students on-task on managed devices. Usually IT-deployed.
GoGuardian Teacher
GoGuardian is one of the most widely deployed screen-monitoring tools in U.S. schools, used in a large share of districts. Teachers can view student screens in real time, focus the class on specific tabs, limit browsing, and message students. It's built for Chromebook-heavy 1:1 environments and managed at the district level.
Best for: districts with 1:1 Chromebooks that need real-time screen visibility and web filtering.
LanSchool
LanSchool (by Lenovo) is a long-established classroom device-control tool. It lets teachers monitor and control student devices, push the teacher's screen, lock screens to get attention, and limit applications across Windows, Mac, Chromebook, and iPad. It's a mature option for mixed-device labs.
Best for: schools with mixed device fleets that need cross-platform screen control.
Securly Classroom
Securly Classroom pairs classroom screen monitoring with Securly's wider web-filtering and student-safety platform. Teachers can guide tabs, block sites, and see activity, while administrators get district-level filtering and wellbeing tools. It appeals to districts that want monitoring and safety from one vendor.
Best for: districts that want screen monitoring bundled with web filtering and student-safety analytics.
Category B — Running your class day-to-day
Assignments, grades, attendance, behavior, and engagement.
Level Up Classroom
Full K-12 platform · Free plan
Level Up Classroom is a full classroom platform built by a working Ontario high school teacher: a real weighted gradebook (any framework, auto-calculation, live student portal), attendance, seating charts, a Google-Classroom-style class stream for assignments and questions, at-risk analytics, and one-click parent and student emails. On top of that it adds a persistent gamification engine — XP, levels, badges, and optional anonymous leaderboards — and AI tools (report card comments, rubrics, assignments, lesson plans, pop quizzes) powered by Claude, with student names never sent to the AI.
Unlike most behavior/engagement tools, it's designed for K-12 including secondary, and it's Ontario-first (KATC, learning skills, curriculum-expectation tracking) with Canadian data residency in the Firebase Toronto region. It doesn't monitor screens — pair it with a Category-A tool if you need that.
Best for: teachers who want one tool to run the whole class — gradebook, attendance, assignments, engagement, and AI — especially secondary and Canadian/Ontario teachers.
Google Classroom
Google Classroom is the default assignment hub in much of K-12, free with Google Workspace for Education. It excels at distributing and collecting Drive-based work and posting announcements. Its grading is point-total based rather than a full weighted gradebook, and it doesn't do attendance or gamification, so many teachers pair it with a dedicated gradebook.
Best for: Google Workspace schools that mainly need to distribute and collect assignments.
ClassDojo
ClassDojo is a behavior and communication platform that's hugely popular in elementary classrooms. Teachers award positive-behavior points, share photos and updates to a class story, and message parents. It's friendly and parent-facing, but it isn't a gradebook and is built primarily for younger grades.
Best for: elementary teachers focused on positive behavior and parent communication.
Nearpod
Nearpod turns lessons into interactive, teacher-paced or student-paced experiences with embedded quizzes, polls, and activities. It's more of an instructional-delivery and engagement tool than a class-management system — there's no gradebook or attendance — but it's excellent for keeping students actively involved during a lesson.
Best for: teachers who want interactive, engaging lesson delivery with live formative checks.
At a glance
| Tool | Type | Gradebook | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level Up Classroom | Run the class | ✓ Full weighted | One tool for the whole class, K-12 |
| Google Classroom | Run the class | Limited | Distributing & collecting work |
| ClassDojo | Run the class | No | Elementary behavior & parent comms |
| Nearpod | Run the class | No | Interactive lesson delivery |
| GoGuardian Teacher | Screen monitoring | No | 1:1 Chromebook visibility |
| LanSchool | Screen monitoring | No | Cross-platform device control |
| Securly Classroom | Screen monitoring | No | Monitoring + web filtering |
Where Level Up Classroom fits
If your real need is screen monitoring, Level Up Classroom isn't that tool — and it won't pretend to be. It lives squarely in Category B: the software you use to actually run the class.
What sets it apart there is breadth without bloat. Google Classroom handles assignments but not grades, attendance, or engagement. ClassDojo handles elementary behavior but isn't a gradebook and tops out before high school. Nearpod handles lesson delivery but not record-keeping. Level Up Classroom brings the gradebook, attendance, assignments, parent communication, persistent gamification, and AI tools into one place — and, unusually, it's built for secondary as well as elementary.
A common setup: your school's IT runs a monitoring tool on the Chromebooks, and you run Level Up Classroom for everything else. It's free to start — one class, 25 students, no credit card.
Frequently asked questions
What does classroom management software actually do?
The term covers two very different categories. The first is device and screen monitoring, where a teacher can see and control student screens, lock devices, and limit websites — tools like GoGuardian Teacher, LanSchool, and Securly Classroom. The second is running your class day-to-day: assignments, grades, attendance, behavior, and engagement — tools like Google Classroom, ClassDojo, and Level Up Classroom. Many teachers use one of each.
What is the best classroom management software for secondary teachers?
Many engagement and behavior tools are designed for elementary classrooms. For secondary teachers who want one platform to run the class — gradebook, attendance, assignments, and age-appropriate gamification — Level Up Classroom is built for K-12 including high school. For device monitoring in a 1:1 secondary program, GoGuardian or Securly are common choices, often used alongside a class platform.
Is Level Up Classroom free?
Yes. Level Up Classroom has a free plan with one active class, up to 25 students, and the full gradebook, with no credit card required. Paid plans are $4 (Basic), $9 (Pro), and $19 (Ultra) CAD per month, with about 17% off annual billing and cancel-anytime.
Do I need separate tools for monitoring and for running my class?
Often, yes. Screen-monitoring tools and class-running platforms solve different problems, so schools frequently deploy one of each — for example GoGuardian for device control plus Level Up Classroom or Google Classroom for assignments and grades. Pick the monitoring tool your school's IT controls, and the class platform that fits how you teach.
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