AliWoodley

Hi, When you say Summer update...do you mean that you have the Summer 2015 version 3.164?

Thanks for that....but it still doesn't give a date? I thought it was due at the end of June?

Not sure if this will help? 01/05/15 Assessment Manager and Profiles Report We have been made aware of an issue around the report tags used in SIMS version 7.162 (Spring 2015). What does this mean? If you have “Hide rows with no Results” or “Remove Report Sections that contain no Results” selected as options for these reports, errors will be present in the generated output. Who will be affected? Any user who generates Assessment Manager or Profile Individual Reports on their workstation. Who will NOT be affected? If you are a user who only views reports already generated by another member of staff, then you will not be affected. This issue is only applicable to the computer on which the reports are generated. How are we fixing this? This is a fix that only needs to be applied to the workstation which manages the report generation in the school. It is not possible to fix this with a database patch. We have prepared, tested and now released a SIMS Workstation Package. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause you. Please read the applicable information attached for SOLUS3 or SOLUS 2 users Files Report fix for SOLUS2 Report fix for SOLUS3

Hi Has anyone received anything about the Summer 2015 Release (3.164?) I cannot find anything on My Account - but found a full release note on Scomis? Much of the requirements for Results Days need us to be on the Summer Release, but Capita don't appear to be answering? Any feedback gratefully received!

I believe that the hide reports with no comments only works with table data. I did have a list of things to change in MS Word to ensure that the template generates properly, but I've had a clean out of my inbox recently and can't find it. It specifies changing things like spelling check settings etc within the Options of Word. I'm sure the helpdesk will send it to you if you open a case.

Have you made sure that there is NO TICK in the box "allow row to break across pages" in table properties (if you have a table) - This causes templates to suddenly stop working

I will email you a link, once Ian has authorised it, you will get added to the list. Send me an email (I have given it in a PM) and I will forward you the link

Hi Emm I am a member of the Lincs Data Managers Forum ([email protected]) - It was set up by Ian Widdows, who is the administrator. Drop that link and email and get yourself on the list, all posts go out by email, and it is very useful. This group is starting to talk about setting up networking meetings etc. I am in Lincolnshire, and would definitely be interesting in a network group with meetings and I know a couple of other people that would be interested too. Send me an email Ali

Yes, that is exactly my grade set I am using for the average attainment 8

Hi Amanda, This information came to me via a Data Managers Group that I subscribe to....the whole email notification is below (sorry I don't have the link!) ""I thought that you might find the post below helpful. It is written by Bill Watkin, who is SSAT Operational Director and lead on policy. Ian Calculating the new headline average GCSE grade (Attainment 8) for your school. In the new accountability measures, as you know, each school will have an Attainment 8 grade. This average GCSE grade, achieved across the Y11 cohort, in their 8 qualifying subjects, will be expressed as a B, B+ or B- (or a C, C+, C-, D, D+, D- etc). This will be a key headline indicator of a school’s standards. It seems to me that this will be an important measure, because communities and headline makers may be reductive in looking at the full range of performance measures, and may just refer to a school’s Attainment 8 score, when categorising the school’s standards. A school with a high Attainment 8 grade will be viewed more favourably than a school with a low Attainment 8 grade. Of course, a school with a low Attainment 8 grade may actually have an excellent Progress 8 score, if its students have made significant progress, but if the cohort is skewed towards the lower end of the ability spectrum. It will be important to ensure that a school’s Progress 8 measure receives due focus and priority, not just by the authorities, but also by all members of the community. And how will the 8 grades achieved by each Y11 student, averaged across the cohort, to give the school a single Attainment 8 grade, be calculated, in terms of conversion to points and then re-conversion to an average grade? So, this is the question. What average point score equates to what GCSE grade and where do the + and – qualifiers come in? In Attainment 8, the student’s grade in each of his or her 8 qualifying subjects is converted to points (eg B = 6, C = 5, D = 4 etc). So a pupil with 8 straight B grades (bearing in mind that Maths and English count double) scores 10 x 6 = 60. Example student Subject Grade achieved Points equivalent Total points English lang B (x2) 6 (x2) 12 Maths C (x2) 5 (x2) 10 History D 4 4 French C 5 5 Biology B 6 6 Drama A 7 7 Art D 4 4 English lit C 5 5 The total points achieved is divided by 8 (or 10, if you factor in double for English and Maths) and you arrive at an average point score per pupil. This score will be expressed to two decimal points (eg 5.33). This average point score is converted back to a grade. The grade can be expressed with or without a + or a – (C+, C, C-). The question is, how do the decimal points relate to the +/- differential? For example, 6.00 = B. Does 6.33 = B+, because it is higher than the 6 needed for a B? Or is it a straight B, because it is closest to a 6? Or is it a B-, because it is a low score within the 6 range? Does 5.90 = B- (a kind of B even though the pupil did not actually reach a B) Or does 5.90 = C+ (it is a high C, but did not actually make the 6 required for a B? And what does 6.50 relate to? B, B+, A-? The DfE has now published some helpful clarification: which will allow you to test Attainment 8 out on your current cohort to see where your school would stand: Attainment 8 Points Score – Conversion to Grade Average grade assigned Attainment 8 point score for grade Average point score per pupil (range) A* 8 7.83+ A*- 7.50-7.82 A+ 7.17-7.49 A 7 6.83-7.16 A- 6.50-6.82 B+ 6.17-6.49 B 6 5.83-6.16 B- 5.50-5.82 C+ 5.17-5.49 C 5 4.83-5.16 C- 4.50-4.82 D+ 4.17-4.49 D 4 3.83-4.16 D- 3.50-3.82 E+ 3.17-3.49 E 3 2.83-3.16 E- 2.50-2.82 F+ 2.17-2.49 F 2 1.83-2.16 F- 1.50-1.82 G+ 1.17-1.49 G 1 0.83-1.16 G- 0.50-0.82 U <0.5

Hi, you might find the following grade set useful when setting up your attainment/progress 8 templates. What I did, was set up an aspect for each subject, all with a grade set of A*-G using the 8-0 whole numbers. I used EQUALS formula to get my current grades (with 58-A*, 52-A etc) into these new aspects. Then created one aspect called "Attainment 8" using the A*,A- etc., grade set. After setting up all the MAX formulae etc., in order to get the Attainment 8 points score, I then divided by 10 and set up the used the MARKS TO GRADE formulae in my final aspect (with the A*, A- grade set) to give me an average grade for each student. The DfE has now published some helpful clarification: which will allow you to test Attainment 8 out on your current cohort to see where your school would stand: Attainment 8 Points Score – Conversion to Grade Average grade assigned Attainment 8 point score for grade Average point score per pupil (range) A* 8 7.83+ A*- 7.50-7.82 A+ 7.17-7.49 A 7 6.83-7.16 A- 6.50-6.82 B+ 6.17-6.49 B 6 5.83-6.16 B- 5.50-5.82 C+ 5.17-5.49 C 5 4.83-5.16 C- 4.50-4.82 D+ 4.17-4.49 D 4 3.83-4.16 D- 3.50-3.82 E+ 3.17-3.49 E 3 2.83-3.16 E- 2.50-2.82 F+ 2.17-2.49 F 2 1.83-2.16 F- 1.50-1.82 G+ 1.17-1.49 G 1 0.83-1.16 G- 0.50-0.82 U <0.5

Don't relocate to Lincolnshire....woefully underpaid!