Once you have published Students, KS2 Baselines/EAPs, and Grades, you have the option to also generate a tracker report and Flight Paths, if set up. This article explains how to generate these, and a video tutorial demonstrating this and their usage is also available at the bottom.
What is the Tracker?
Generating the tracker allows you to access a tracker report for the cohort you’re working with. This can include up to six assessment collections or standalone data sets to view selected figures side by side and track if performance is increasing or decreasing throughout the year, as shown in the example below.
Generating the Tracker
To generate the tracker, go to DATA > select Keystage 3/4 and Cohort > GRADES > Publish Grades > Generate Tracker tab. Next, select the Tracker Status and enter a Note if applicable.
Then, select up to 6 assessment collections or standalone data sets from the published reports for that cohort. This will fill each of the tracker slots, with slot 1 being the earliest and slot 6 being the latest. To select a report, click the number 1-6 in the Tracker Slots column to determine which slot this will fill.
For example, if you want Y10 Autumn to fill slot 1 within the tracker, click 1 in this column. Each data set or assessment collection can only be selected within one slot in the tracker.
Once you have filled all necessary slots, click ‘Generate’. Once the tracker has generated, you can click the generation progress bar to go directly to the Reports.
For more information on the Tracker reports, see the video below or our article here - KS3/4 - Tracking performance over time (Track).
What is a Flight Path?
A flight path is a graphical representation of a student’s performance in a particular data set or assessment compared to their expected performance. The expected performance is determined by the grades entered within the EAPs for the cohort, if this has been set up by a Sisra admin. If so, a series of flight path charts are available in the Student Detail Overview report for each student, showing their performance in each qualification they are taking.
Generating Flight Paths
To generate flight paths, go to GRADES > Publish Grades and click the Generate Flight Paths tab, then select the appropriate data set or assessment collection in the dropdowns for each term. The selections available are determined by the term that has been selected for each report (DATA > select KS3/4 and Cohort > GRADES > Publish Grades > Generate Flight Paths tab).
In the table, select which terms you'd like to fill with the appropriate reports. This will only display any reports which have already been published.
Once you have filled all necessary slots, click ‘Generate’. This will display a pop-up window with the following selections:
- Which starting points should be used for the flight paths? This will determine whether official KS2 baselines or internal custom baselines should be displayed as the starting points for the flight paths. This will not change which pathway the student is on for each qualification, only what is displayed on the flight path itself.
Please note, the official KS2 core baselines will be determined based on the cohort you’re working with. For example, KS2 English Reading for all English qualifications, KS2 Maths for Maths qualifications, and the average of English Reading and Maths for all other qualifications.
- Which chart should the user see by default? This will determine whether a line of best fit or plotted expectation will be displayed on the flight paths in the reports by default. Users are able to switch between these two views in the reports themselves, using the dropdown in the right hand corner of the flight path.
A line of best fit will display a straight line of expectation plotted using the student’s first and final
expectations, based on the grades entered within the EAPs. This is most useful when using a combination of grade methods across KS3 and KS4.
Plotted expectation will display a line of expectation that increases and decreases based on the grades entered within the EAPs. This is most useful when using the same grade method across KS3 and KS4.
Once you have completed the selections, click ‘Generate’. Flight paths can then be viewed for individual students, by clicking REPORTS > KS3/4 > Select Cohort > Report > Students, and selecting a student.
Feel free to see our article here which explains viewing Flight Paths in the reports step by step - KS3/4 - Viewing Student Flight Paths, or alternatively, see the video below:
Thanks for reading!