This lesson will walk you through the basics of using Calculations within Custom Reports as well as providing suggestions on when to use this tool.
Note: This is a permission-based feature. Your district's system administrator can grant the permission for Calculations.
This lesson assumes you are working on a custom report. See the "Create a Custom Report" lesson if you require help.
To Add a Calculation to a created report:
1. Click the Advanced tab
2. Then press Add a Calculation.
In the Edit Calculations page, you can set up your desired calculations using the following symbols (*, /, -, +) for multiplication, division, subtraction and addition accordingly.
NOTE: If the calculation set up does not match the accepted notational form, you will receive the following error message "Your calculation has an error. Your changes were not saved. Calculations may only contain numbers, letters of the columns shown at the left, parentheses, spaces, and mathematical operators (+, -, *, and /). Your parentheses must also be balanced."
Calculations in Custom Reports are helpful for users interested in comparing student results on multiple benchmarks and state tests. The following scenario will address one way to create an average score column for a district benchmark and state test.
-Data columns added to this report include Student ID, Student First and Last Name, Benchmark 1, Benchmark 2, and State Assessment ELA.
- Click Advanced and then Add a Calculation. Once int the Edit Calculations page, (1) add a column name to this calculation. Once your calculation is complete, a new column will be created (using this supplied name) to show that calculation.
- Next, (2) locate the columns to be averaged. Using the letters associated with each column (i.e. A for Benchmark 1), create a mathematical function to produce the desired results. In this instance, since we are trying to find the average overall score for these assessments, we will need to add Benchmark 1, 2 and the State Assessment together and divide by three, as shown above.
-Once your calculation is complete, (3) click save.
After you have saved this calculation, you will be able to repeat these steps to create multiple calculations per report.
To return to a previously created calculation to make a change to it, go to the Manage Columns page, find the column in question and select Calculation. This will take you back to the original calculation input page. Make your edits and click Save. You will get a message saying 'Calculation Saved'.
To edit or change your calculations, visit Manage Columns in your reports taskbar. Select or click on the Calculation you wish to edit or change and it will take you back to the Calculation setup page.
To delete your calculation, select the Delete checkbox on the Manage Columns page. Select Save Changes to confirm.
Next Steps
For any other information on creating Custom Reports, see the help chapter titled, 'Custom Reports'.