Exam season is approaching, a thought that might cause a slight shiver for pupils, teachers and administrators alike. Of course, accurate and ongoing pupil assessment is vital in helping children and teenagers prepare for exams, whether they be SATs, GCSEs or A-Levels... SIMS can help.
Our pupil tracking grids can support schools in tracking the progress of individuals or groups of pupils on a termly or yearly basis. They are an effective means of comparing the current assessment of each pupil with their previous progress or national expectations. These tracking grids are not for data entry, but simply for data reviews.
To create your own tracking grid:
- Navigate to Focus | Assessment | Tracking Grid Template
- Click ‘New’ at the top
- Name your grid template
- Click ‘Rows’, then select your ‘Pattern’ from the drop-down list
- If the Pattern you want is not present, you can easily create it by selecting ‘New’
- Click ‘Columns’ and select either ‘Grade Pattern’, ‘Age Pattern’ or ‘Marks Pattern’. Again, if what you want is not present, this can easily be added by selecting ‘New’
- Once this grid is created, you have several options available to you:
- Via ‘Actions’ for example, you may wish to set a target grade or paint cell with selected colour
- Via ‘Paint’ you can colour selected cells
- Via ‘Performance | Analysis | Define Analysis Settings you can chose the format of the pupil names and set the colour for target cells
- Add summary rows and columns
- Clicking on ‘Associated Assessments’ at the top allows you to choose which assessments will be associated with the Tracking Grid
- Click ‘Save’
To use the grid:
- Navigate to Focus | Assessment | Tracking Grids
- Click ‘Browse’ and then select the Tracking Grid Template you have just created
- Select the desired Assessment and Source Group, then click to ‘Populate’
- You have the option to turn on or off summary rows and to view summary column data as a number or as a percentage. Click ‘Actions’ provides additional options
- you can show the data as a graph, export to Excel, copy or print. All these options are presented along the top of the screen
Tracking grids can be used in a number of ways to review progress and attainment. More information can be found within the Exams & Assessment section of the documentation centre which can be accessed via the top right corner of your SIMS homepage. You will also find a range of other useful handbooks, tutorials, and quick reference sheets relevant to your role within the SIMS Documentation area.
And, for those preparing for exams, best of luck!