Using Excel to Understand Your Data Clayton County Public Schools Department of Research, Evaluation and Assessment Assistant Principal In-Service

Excel in a Nutshell  What is Excel?  Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program that allows users to enter numerical values, such as test scores and student information, into the rows or columns of a spreadsheet  The individual pieces of data are entered into cells  Why use Excel?  Numerical entries in excel can be used for calculations, graphs, and statistical analysis

The Excel Environment  An excel document is a workbook  The workbook contains worksheets  Worksheets are the spreadsheets where numerical data are entered and manipulated  Example: a spreadsheet of student test scores  Worksheets contain column headings  Workbooks help keep data organized because they contain multiple worksheets of related data  Think of a workbook as a folder where related files are stored

What are the components of an excel worksheet? Select all box Column heading Minimize button Maximize button Close window button Scroll arrow Scroll bar Row heading Worksheet Tab scrolling buttons Worksheet tabs Cell A1 Workbook name

Navigating Workbooks and Worksheets  Tab scrolling buttons: allows you to view all the worksheets in a workbook  Worksheet tabs: click a tab to view the contents of that sheet  Scroll arrows and scroll bars: allow you to move up and down or side to side within a worksheet  Each row is one unique student and regardless of where you scroll Tab scrolling buttons Sheet 1 is the active sheet Scroll bar Scroll arrow

Splitting Sheets into Panes  Sheet panes allow you to view different areas of a worksheet simultaneously when you choose the Window and Split command  Select the cell below and to the right of where you would like your split to occur  Sheets can be split vertically, horizontally, or vertically and horizontally

Navigating Panes  When a sheet is split into 2 panes, 4 scroll bars are available for navigating the panes  Now you can view any data needed Lower panes scroll bars Left panes scroll bar Right panes scroll bars Top panes scroll bar Split

Freezing Panes  After a window has been spilt into panes the left pane, top pane or both panes can be “frozen” locking the frozen pane into place  Choose Window and Freeze panes

Navigating Frozen Panes  When panes are frozen the divider lines change from thick lines to thin lines  The right pane can be navigated while the left pane remains frozen Frozen pane Divider lines

Removing Splits and Unfreezing Panes  Remove splits and freezes by choosing Window and Remove Split or Unfreeze Panes

Inserting Columns to Add New Data  Columns may be inserted to add new data such as the current teacher or current grade for students

To Insert New Columns  Select the column to the right of where you would like the new column inserted  Right click  Select Insert OR  Select Insert at the top of the screen  Select Columns The same directions apply for inserting rows, rows will be inserted above the selected rowThe same directions apply for inserting rows, rows will be inserted above the selected row To delete new rows or columns, highlight the row or column then right click and select deleteTo delete new rows or columns, highlight the row or column then right click and select delete

Sorting Data  Sorting data allows you to look at data in sequence, such as by teacher or grade and test score in ascending or descending order

To Sort Data  Choose Data  Choose Sort  Select your first column to sort by, such as “class name” or “grade”  Select the next column to sort by, such as a “test scale score”  Make sure my data range has header row is selected  Choose OK *Up to 3 columns may be selected for sorting *If a sorting warning is displayed select “sort anything that looks like a number, as a number” * If a sorting warning is displayed asking you to expand the selection do so

Using the AutoFilter  You can also use the AutoFilter to sort or to filter and view specified data only  Select the column you would like to AutoFilter  If you would like to sort or filter by more than one column select the row containing all column headings  Select Data  Select Filter  Select Auto Filter  Use the AutoFilter drop down menus as needed

Using the AutoFilter  The top two options in the drop down menu are sorting options  The next options are filtering options  AutoFilter can be removed by selecting the AutoFilter option again Sort or filter on the AutoFilter drop down menu

Conditional Formatting  You may want to change the appearance of data to highlight cell values below or above a defined criteria  For example: Having all values below a pass or meets expectations score highlighted in red Scale Scores below 800 are highlighted in red

Applying Conditional Formatting

To Apply Conditional Formatting  Select the cells or column(s) to format  Choose Format  Choose Conditional Formatting  Set Conditions for cells  Select Format  Apply Formatting  Select OK in Format Cells Box  Select OK in the Conditional Formatting Box

PivotTables  A pivot table is a type of table that summarizes information from fields of data  When creating a pivot table you specify which fields you would like in your table, how you would like the table organized, and what types of calculations you want to perform  After the table is created you can rearrange or “pivot” the table to view data from alternate perspectives

PivotTable  This PivotTable displays the number of students in each of the 3 levels of reading performance for each first grade teacher

PivotTable Wizard  The PivotTable Wizard will walk you through all the steps of creating a PivotTable  Once the wizard is finished, drag and drop selected fields to the areas of the table you would like them displayed in

To Create a PivotTable  Select Data at the top of the screen then select PivotTable and PivotChart Report  Follow Steps 1 – 3 of the PivotTable Wizard Step 1: Choose Microsoft Office Excel List or Database and PivotTable, click Next Step 2: Make sure all data you want in the table is in the selected data range, click Next Step 3: Select New Worksheet for location of data, click Finish Step 4: Drag and drop fields where you would like them displayed in the table

To Create a PivotTable  Drag and drop fields from the PivotTable Field List into the blank table Blank Table Pivot Table Field List Pivot Table Tool Bar

PivotTable Data Values  By double clicking on a PivotTable field heading you can select what numeric value to display Where appropriate sums, counts, averages etc. can be displayed

PivotTable Drop Down Menus  By selecting the arrow on a PivotTable field heading you can choose which data to display Check to select which grades to display

Changing the Names of PivotTable Headings  If you would like to change the names of PivotTable headings you may do so by clicking in the heading field and typing a new name

Changing the Display of Rows and Columns in PivotTables  Drag and drop table field headings to create different views of the data Class displayed horizontally Class displayed vertically

PivotCharts  PivotCharts are graphical representations of data  Just as with PivotTables, fields can be dragged and dropped to create a different view of the data in PivotCharts

PivotCharts from PivotTables  A PivotChart can be created from a PivotTable by selecting any cell in the table and clicking the chart wizard on the PivotTable Toolbar Toolbar PivotChart Wizard Option Select any cell

PivotChart Wizard  A PivotChart can also be created from the PivotChart Wizard menu by selecting Data, PivotTable and PivotChart PivotChart Wizard Option

Changing PivotChart Type  By right clicking in the PivotChart area and selecting Chart Type the type of chart can be changed

Microsoft Excel Help  The help menu can provide assistance on most topics Type questions here Results display here

Microsoft Excel Resources  Microsoft Excel 2003 Inside Out  Microsoft Press, 2004  Microsoft Excel for Dummies  Wiley Publishing, 2005