Santa Fe Public Schools 2011

What is Inform?  Inform is a data warehouse provided by Pearson used to generate reports based upon students’ test scores  All data in Inform corresponds with test scores for all currently enrolled students who have valid scores  Inform allows teachers and principals to view historical data for students

Data in Inform  All data in Pearson Inform is uploaded from data files received for each test taken  These files are then matched up with any student records that are actively in Powerschool at the time of the data upload  If a student is not an active student in Powerschool at the time of the Inform data upload his/her data is not entered into the system  If a student was in Powerschool at the time of the upload but later leaves the SFPS district, his/her data will remain in Inform

Reports in Inform  Inform provides graphs and tables of student results for each test associated with the generated report  These graphs contain a depiction of student performance when compared to the school average and the district average  Reports can also be used to create class reports which can be filtered by various parameters

Accessing Inform

First Login

Navigating Inform  Inform’s main method of navigation is done through a series of “Dashboards”  The main and most commonly used dashboards available on Inform include: » Primary Dashboard » Student Dashboard » Assessment Dashboard  These dashboards are where you will run reports on Inform

Primary Dashboard

Primary Dashboard Cont.  The Primary Dashboard is the first icon on the navigation toolbar of Inform  The Primary Dashboard is where the majority of comparison reports will be run  Reports can be sorted and filtered by ethnicity, or grade level for the selected years and selected tests  Using the “Context Navigator” you can change the level at which data is displayed

Generating Reports

Generating Reports Cont.

Context Navigator

Selecting Teachers

Filter Filter will allow you to choose a parameter and will display only the parameter chosen Filter: Ethnicity = Hispanic will show only Hispanic scores Display Display will show all test results for the selected test, sorted by the parameter chosen For example: Display: Ethnicity will show how Hispanics VS Caucasians performed Display VS Filter  When selecting parameters you will notice two options, Display and Filter

Sample Report

Drilling Down

Searching for Students  The magnifying glass in the top right hand corner will provide you with the ability to search for a specific student, if the student has records in Inform Use this icon to search for a student

How to Search  Searching on Inform can be done through a variety of methods  The various forms of student locating methods that Inform supports are: -Search by name -Search by ID  These can be done for only students currently enrolled or for any students who may have been in SFPS during the time of the Inform upload

Searching Cont.

Printing and Exporting Reports  Inform will allow you to print reports exactly as they are shown on the various dashboards  Locate the printer icon in the top right hand corner, next to the student search icon  To save the report to your computer, after clicking the printer icon, choose “Preview”  The report will be saved as an Adobe Reader PDF file extension

Exporting Reports

Exported Report Sample

Clearing Dashboard  After generating a report you have to clear the dashboard of the excess reports before creating new ones  To do so, click on the “Red X” on the navigation toolbar in the top right hand corner of the screen

Multiple Reports  Inform has the ability to allow the user to run as many reports as one would like at once  This feature allows the user to visually make comparisons between multiple reports at once  Once the dashboard has a report being displayed, simply generate a second report without clearing the dashboard  The two reports will be displayed side by side after using the shrink window icon on the main report that was already generated

Multiple Reports Cont.

Saving Reports to Library  Inform allows users to save their most commonly used reports to a “library” in order to access the data quicker  Multiple reports can be saved to the library, and new folders to separate various documents can also be created  Reports can be saved as either static or dynamic  Static=Screenshot/captured version  Dynamic=Live version that changes

Creating Library  In the Primary Dashboard, expand the panel to view the folders of the library  Enter “Edit Mode” to add folders or change data within each folder  Reports can then be saved to the library by clicking on the “Green Floppy Disc” located underneath the “X” on the top right hand corner of the report

Editing Library Expand the library to view folders Click the three squares to enter “Edit Mode” Use left clicks to create new folders in “Edit Mode”

Student Dashboard  Besides the Primary Dashboard, the second most commonly used dashboard is the Student Dashboard  The Student Dashboard can be accessed in one of the following two manners: -Locating the second icon on the navigation toolbar -Performing a search for a specific student using the student search icon

Features of Student Dashboard  The student dashboard contains charts that depict the performance levels for the student selected  These charts consist of all previous records available for the student  Trend-lines are used to emphasize a comparison in statistics versus district averages and school averages  Student information can be viewed as both a chart or a table

Student Graphs

Student Table

Comparing Students  Inform allows the Student Dashboard to have multiple student reports opened at once  This allows the user to compare multiple students to one another  Search for the initial student using the search icon on the navigation pane  Once the report is open you can search for another student and compare their results side by side  Switch to the “Student Assessment Profile View” by locating the icon Use The Top Icon To Switch Views!

Assessment Dashboard  The Assessment Dashboard runs in a very similar manner to the Primary Dashboard  Both create reports that can be viewed as charts and tables  The difference is in the manner in which the reports are created  Assessment Dashboard reports also don’t have the ability to be saved to your personal library  Reports viewed as tables within the Assessment Dashboard can be exported to Excel

Assessment Dashboard Cont.  The Assessment Dashboard is the third dashboard located on the navigation toolbar  By default, this dashboard will have pre- determined reports selected  Clear the selections before creating any reports  Selections can be cleared by clicking on the red x on the left hand side of the screen

Types of Reports in Assessment Dashboard  The Assessment Dashboard has a variety of different reports, these include: -Student Performance Summary -Distribution of Student Scores  The most commonly run report is the Student Performance Summary  Unlike the Primary Dashboard, multiple reports cannot be run side by side in the Assessment Dashboard

Creating Reports » 1 = Student Performance Summary » 2 = Performance Summary by Subject » 3 = Performance Summary by Standard » 4 = Distribution of Student Scores » 5 = Test Item Analysis

Assessment Report

Distribution of Student Scores

Exporting to Excel

Allowing Export

Tips and Reminders  Pearson Inform is a website created with Adobe Flash. This means that right clicking the mouse does not work on the website in any context  All editing must always be done by first entering “Edit Mode” and using left clicks  Students can be searched for on any dashboard using the student search icon  If you do not know what an icon on Inform is used for, move your mouse’s cursor over the icon to receive a brief description/title of the icon

Tips Cont.  Multiple reports can be viewed side by side. This applies to the Primary Dashboard and Student Dashboard only  Always clear the dashboards whenever you want to view just one report otherwise reports will pile up in the background  Inform “times out” quickly for security reasons if left idle too long  Usernames are not case sensitive but passwords are  Inform is color coded: » Red = Below Standard » Green= At or Above Standard Passwords should all be changed after initial login Contact our office to have password reset, passwords must contain at least one capital letter, one lower case letter, and one number.

Questions and Clarification  If you still require more assistance with Pearson Inform, please feel free to contact our department, Assessment and Accountability: NameTitlePhone Rob TafoyaReport Michael GuruleTesting Lynn VanderlindenDepartment

Thank You For Your Time! Santa Fe Public School Pearson Inform Training