[sims] 3 questions - Help with grouping students and end of year report please +

[aligtps]

Hi all

 

 

3 quick questions that I would love some help with....thanks in advance

I am in a primary school and we have been painstakingly sorting all of our assessment manager data ready for sept.

 

Question 1

We have some lessons such as numeracy where groups are taken out to do interventions. Does anybody know how we could filter these children to see how they were progressing? I suppose it is the primary equivalent to setting students in a subject in high school

 

Question 2

We produce termly reports I have taken our report format and created a word template for each year group which picks up levels from each termI have done this through assessment individual report. I have had to create one per year so that for example the Year 4 one picks up end of previous year numeracy, end of autumn 2 numeracy etc

 

Is there a quicker way I could have done this or is it because it only links to those marksheets it can only be done that way.

 

Question 3

Where I have a word template in an individual report that lets me select data such as attendance percentage can I customise it to add more info. e.g. at the minute it does not have emergency contact details in the list. How could I add this to my options?

 

Thanks for any help....slowly getting my head around this.

[vikpaw]

1. Assessment or User Defined Groups (ADG / UDG)Either would do but go with ADG. From focus menu, groups. You have to create them and maintain them manually, but you can assign marksheets to them or filter year marksheets by them once created. Assuming you don't have curriculum suite to do timetables hence setted groups but that is overly complex. There is an area called primary curriculum which is just in SIMS and may help but never used it. Should have a guide for it in the documentation folder on sims server.

 

2. You have done right and they will work year on year now. Only time saver would have been to clone them and change the tags by a find and replace but that's for another day!

 

3. Not possible to change the available fields, only work around is to create aspects to hold the data and put on a marksheet. Next run a report for that data, including key fields like Ad. No. , UPN and import it to your marksheet. Its a slog! Alternative is to put that detail on a separate page of the report and run that off separately, then collate together later. This 2nd way means your data is up to date and you don't have marketsheets / aspects holding out of date data.You can't store that separate sheet(s) on student's file but that sort of data won't matter. What is the purpose of putting emergency contacts on? To ask for corrections at the same time? There are a few built in data collection reports for this, a pain to edit but useful.Holler if you need anything else and have a look around when you have time; lots of useful tips and info here.

Edited July 24, 2011 by vikpaw
no structure due to iphone edit

[aligtps]

Thanks vikpaw.

 

With regards to cloning the reports and the find and replace I tried to do that but it would not take the grades off so had to go and input all the fields manually.

 

As for the contact numbers I wanted to add them to a trip letter that was personalised and sent out for parents just to sign but also check the details we had for them as you suggested.

 

Thanks for your help

[vikpaw]

No problem aligtps.

 

The find and replace is a little complex. The easiest thing to do, is clone the report, then on your new copy click the pilcrow symbol ¶ which will show you the paragraph marks / formatting. It will probably quadruple the number of pages, but this is where you can edit the tags. There are two parts to it, the first part which you can edit normally, the second part which you see when you hit pilcrow is actually the code that pulls in the data. You should change both. You need to be careful so will need to read up.

 

This thread http://www.edugeek.net/forums/mis-systems/68755-how-bulk-update-result-set-individual-reports-am7.html discusses it briefly, and if you follow the links to SupportNet there is more detail there. You may have to search for the topic id if the link doesn't work for both. You can also then go and vote for the change request so we don't have to jump through these hoops to get things done.

 

Basically, be careful to completely delete old codes, if removing, and be careful what you replace.

 

At the end, validate the template. The instructions may not include that, as it never was needed but now it is. In fact you may need to validate, save, exit. Then reopen and validate again, as it seems to miss things on the first pass.

 

For trip letter, go with a separate report, either make your own mail-merge report, or use something that's built in. Also the data collection report is quite good, if you can take it as is. Editing it is a little painful. Take a look and see what you think.

 

[Banjo]

I would go with the 'full fat' academic management rather than assessment user defined groups. Once the groups have been created its easier to assign and maintain pupils in those groups.

[vikpaw]

I would go with the 'full fat' academic management rather than assessment user defined groups. Once the groups have been created its easier to assign and maintain pupils in those groups.

But it's a primary and possibly only for one course. Not sure how the primary curriculum thing that is just in SIMS works but to have the full whack like we do, would be an extra cost for the curriculum suite.

[Banjo]

But it's a primary and possibly only for one course. Not sure how the primary curriculum thing that is just in SIMS works but to have the full whack like we do, would be an extra cost for the curriculum suite.

 

It's built into the primary suite - slightly cut down version of what secondaries get but works a treat.

[vikpaw]

It's built into the primary suite - slightly cut down version of what secondaries get but works a treat.

That must be what i was thinking of then. In which case ignore what i said for #1 @aligtps

[aligtps]

Thanks - How would I do this? If I wanted to create a small group of children in Year 3 who need to do a maths intervention what would I have to do to set this up?

ali

[vikpaw]

I think what you need is the Academic Management for Primary Schools handbook. If you click on the documentation tab top right of SIMS homepage, you should be able to find it there somewhere in one of the lists. Alernatively, you can browse the documentation folder on the SIMS server folder (usually the S: drive), if, the name of the file is obvious. Failing that, it is resource 15191 on Capita's SupportNet, which you should join, if you are not already a member.

[Banjo]

Also make sure you are working in NEXT academic year, otherwise you will have a nasty surprise in Sept!