[sims] RAG Coding Age Aspects (CR created)

[LosOjos]

Hi all,

 

please help support my latest change request: 1212-1158763

 

Basically, we as a school are recording student's reading ages in SIMS and want to compare this age to the student's actual age, then colour the column red, amber or green depending on the difference. Currently, you cannot make any kind of comparison between ages or colour the column (unless you do it manually, which is obviously unrealistic with a cohort of over 1500 students!)

 

Thanks!

[X-13]

I don't use SIMS, but I support this.

 

Sounds logical.

[PhilNeal]

I was in a school recently that recorded the book band that a child was at in AM. They then displayed these in a tracking grid which revealed that a few children were reading well below their age. If you're interested I'll try to find out more.

[LosOjos]

I was in a school recently that recorded the book band that a child was at in AM. They then displayed these in a tracking grid which revealed that a few children were reading well below their age. If you're interested I'll try to find out more.

 

Hi Phil,

 

that's a good idea and certainly something I could look at, but we would really like to see this functionality added to AM7. We have made a big push on data usage over the past 2 years and we are now at a point where teachers have access to all of their class key data via marksheets, with each progress check grade colour coded based on targets. If we could also colour code the reading age aspects to show whether a child is above or below expected, it'd be perfect, unfortunately this isn't currently possible hence the CR.

[vikpaw]

With regards to reading ages, i set up some marksheets for primary school based on the for the GRT tests (form a, form x from NFER??). There was some built in analysis in the books i followed, that gave a standardised score that used a test result which gave the reading age, took into account their age at test and other factors.

Anyway, the upshot is, that it calculates the standardised score using a lookup table from the book, and then i colour the column based on the value of this. It's not quite the same as looking at the actual figures, but should give you the same idea of where they're at. Maybe there's something similar available for you, if you're using a test to work out the reading ages.

Even if not, you could probably make something up to re-create the effect. The lookup table takes age along the top and a score down the side and will throw out the value where they meet. The score down the side is any gradeset, and i have one which is reading age, and i did a little mock up and it seems to accept the values. So you could i think, use it to compare real age with one entered into a 'reading age' gradeset. then just make up whatever output values you want in the middle.

You'd have to test it out with an aspect linked to the gradeset, and see what it gives back, but i'm pretty sure it will give you teh RAGing you want. I'll go and vote anyway

[LosOjos]

With regards to reading ages, i set up some marksheets for primary school based on the for the GRT tests (form a, form x from NFER??). There was some built in analysis in the books i followed, that gave a standardised score that used a test result which gave the reading age, took into account their age at test and other factors.

Anyway, the upshot is, that it calculates the standardised score using a lookup table from the book, and then i colour the column based on the value of this. It's not quite the same as looking at the actual figures, but should give you the same idea of where they're at. Maybe there's something similar available for you, if you're using a test to work out the reading ages.

Even if not, you could probably make something up to re-create the effect. The lookup table takes age along the top and a score down the side and will throw out the value where they meet. The score down the side is any gradeset, and i have one which is reading age, and i did a little mock up and it seems to accept the values. So you could i think, use it to compare real age with one entered into a 'reading age' gradeset. then just make up whatever output values you want in the middle.

You'd have to test it out with an aspect linked to the gradeset, and see what it gives back, but i'm pretty sure it will give you teh RAGing you want. I'll go and vote anyway

 

Hi Vik,

 

thanks for that, I had considered something similar. The problem is, my workload is bad enough as it is without adding to it! We already have systems in place to transfer reading ages in to an age aspect in SIMS which is then displayed on all teachers data sheets (marksheets I created for them to show key data for their classes). I'd really rather not have to recreate every template for the sake of something that should be so simple... If Capita implement my CR, then it'll be a simple case of setting up a single template that calculates the difference and colours the column accordingly, which would then automatically feed through to the dozens of templates I've already created for staff.

 

Although I suspect I'll end up having to, as it's rare (or so it seems!) that CR's actually get implemented.

Edited December 18, 2012 by LosOjos

[vikpaw]

It's not that bad actually. If the aspect you created is based on a reading age gradeset, which i suspect it is, then you just need to make a lookup table which will do the compare and produce a -2,-1,0-1,2 type result. One master template to do the lookup of reading age, against the lookup table, data entry by formula. Another column to RAG it. Save that, then you only have to add the new column to the teachers' data sheets. It should take the colour with it right..?

Yeah, i know, only!

[LosOjos]

It's not that bad actually. If the aspect you created is based on a reading age gradeset, which i suspect it is, then you just need to make a lookup table which will do the compare and produce a -2,-1,0-1,2 type result. One master template to do the lookup of reading age, against the lookup table, data entry by formula. Another column to RAG it. Save that, then you only have to add the new column to the teachers' data sheets. It should take the colour with it right..?

Yeah, i know, only!

 

No Vik, I used an Age aspect, not Grade (seemed logical as I was storing an age, right? Apparently not!)

 

I can see I'm going to end up redoing this in the way you suggested, I'm just getting sick of having to find a work around for everything... surely SIMS should just do this! I'm not asking for much, just to be able to use the same formulae I can use everywhere else (within reason) on an age column...

 

I'm just glad I discovered the power of XML, can you imagine havingto change all of this manually every time somebody had a eureka moment?! I'd never get anything done!

[vikpaw]

I totally forgot about that aspect! I just tried and you can't refer to a non-grade aspect in teh lookup formula. And, you can't copy paste between an age aspect and a grade aspect (just tried it!), but you could do it by exporting the marksheet out and back in. so yep, it just got really messy. but it would be quick ish to get it done now that way, then change the system later.