Creating Customized Student Roster Reports, September 2011

I know there are many folks who would like to create customized MCAS student roster reports "by classroom" or a variety of other groups - intervention group, performance level, subgroup, etc. This type of reporting is not currently available in the Data Warehouse. However, there are a few different options you can look into if you'd like to run reports this way.

The first option is to use the R-616 report (only available at this time in EDW 2.6, not EDW 3.0) to create a custom report either using filters or by choosing students from a list. This can be a bit tedious if you're creating reports by classroom but it's probably the quickest option at this time.

The second option is to start with the roster spreadsheet report from the Dropbox, and use Excel to add in a column for teacher or intervention group. The Filter option in Excel can then be used to create lists based on various criteria AND then Excel could be used to calculate group statistics such as median SGP (>20 students). However, entering the information into the teacher/group column could take a while.

For more advanced Excel users only: There is a function in Excel called VLOOKUP which would allow the automation of the addition of teacher/group data to a column in the roster spreadsheet. In order to do this, you'd need your Dropbox roster spreadsheet PLUS a spreadsheet that lists students (by SASID) by teacher/group. The SASID field will serve as a common data point between the two spreadsheets and allow you to bring data from one spreadsheet into another. Someday I'll write a tutorial for this, but for now, here's a link to a great VLOOKUP tutorial online for anyone would like a reference.

Student Claiming in the Data Warehouse

By default, the Education Data Warehouse allows schools and districts to access MCAS records for tests they administered only. The student claiming process enables schools and districts to access to ALL historical MCAS data for their enrolled students, regardless of where the test was taken.

The folks at DESE will be re-setting the student claiming fields on Friday, July 16, 2010. After you have rolled-over your student information system to 2011 (and after July 16th) districts may upload a new claiming file so that you can access the historic MCAS results for registered students that will be in your building for the start of the 2011 school year.

If you've haven't previously claimed students in the Data Warehouse, this summer (after July 16) would be a good time to do so!

Additional information on the student claiming process can be found at the end of Chapter 3: Basic Access of the EDW User Guide.

Creating Customized Student Subsets in the EDW

Many administrators are asking, "What's the best way for me to put together a classroom-level report, since the state's Education Data Warehouse doesn't include teacher data at this time?"

The new R-611 report in the Data Warehouse can be used to save a roster of students and run any of the other 600-level student reports now or at a later time.

• R-602 Student Item Analysis Graph
• R-606 Student Test Results with Standards
• R-610 Student Test Results
• R-613 Student MCAS History
• R-616 Test Item Analysis Roster

The group of students can be selected either through a series of filters (for example, Grade 3 LEP students) or by copying and pasting a list of SASIDs for the desired group (useful when filters aren't relevant, like a class list.)

While this is still a bit of a manual process, it is much easier than going through each type of student report and "checking off" the students you want to include.

I've put together a handout which will walk you through the 611 report, although it is relatively simple. Please let me know if you find this useful!