The ACER Data Explorer allows you to find, analyse, and use your students’ results quickly and effectively. Reports are centred around the achievement scales and described achievement bands for each learning area, placing the focus on where each student currently is in their learning progress and how to support their next steps.
The following topics are covered in this article:
- Loading the Data Explorer
- Setting your report parameters
- Navigating the reports
- Invalid and missing results
Related video: Analysing data using ACER’s Data Explorer
Loading the Data Explorer
Follow either of the following pathways to load the Data Explorer:
- Click Reports
- Select a learning area
- Select ACER Data Explorer
or
- Click Students
- Select one or more student.
Note: A selection is required here but will not be applied when the Data Explorer loads – you can select your required cohort within the Data Explorer itself. - Select a learning area
- Select ACER Data Explorer
Setting your report parameters
You can select and change your report parameters – students, dates, tests, reports – at any time within the Data Explorer. Use the options at the top and within the panel at the left of the page to find the data you need.
Learning area
The list of available learning areas will depend on your purchased assessments. You must have a valid licence or purchased test credits to generate reports.
Read more about the assessments currently available in the Data Explorer:
- PAT Maths (Data Explorer only available to PAT Maths Adaptive users)
- PAT Reading (Data Explorer only available to PAT Reading Adaptive users)
- PAT Science
- PAT Spelling Skills
For non-Australian schools:
- PAIS Mathematics Adaptive
- PAIS Reading Adaptive
Report type
Each report type provides a different way of understanding and using your students' assessment data. Individual Student reports are available throughout the following reports wherever student names appear:
- The Achievement report provides a snapshot of your students' overall achievement in one testing period
- The Item Performance report allows you to analyse your students' performance on each test item, or question
- The Progress report displays your students' learning progress over multiple years
Cohort selection
By default, students in all year levels and tagged groups that you have permission to view will be included in the report. You can focus on the results of a smaller group of students by adding year level and tag filters.
These filter options are based on students' current details, while the details displayed in the report chart and table reflect students' details at the time they completed their tests.
When you first load the report, only the most recent result for each student within the reporting window will be included, which means some results will not be visible.
To include these missing results, you can narrow the reporting window to match when those results were collected, or you can click Advanced options and check Allow multiple results per student.
Reporting window
Change the reporting window to find the results you need. Quick selections allow you to focus on one school year or semester at a time. You can also select a custom date range in the Achievement and Item Performance reports.
Chart type
You can change the appearance and focus of the current report by selecting a different chart type. For example, the Achievement report can display your students' results grouped by achievement bands, as separate results for each completed test, or in comparison to a norm or reference group.
Restrictions apply to some chart types. For example, you must narrow your cohort selection to just one year level to view a comparison chart.
Navigating the reports
Each report chart is designed around the described achievement scale for the learning area, so throughout the Data Explorer, the highest achieving students and the most difficult test items will appear toward the top of the chart, while the lower achieving students and less difficult items will appear lower.
You can hover over elements within each chart, for example, student or item icons, to view more details. Clicking these icons will load even more detail and will let you explore a particular student's test responses, or the performance of students against one particular test item.
Within the data tables below each chart, click the icons in the left-most columns to highlight student results in the chart or view more details about that student or item.
Invalid and missing results
Students completing Adaptive tests must view (not necessarily respond to) at least half of the items in stage three of their test in order to receive a scale score.
Adaptive tests submitted prematurely will be flagged as Invalid, 'Reason: Insufficient items viewed’.
Results from Invalid tests are not reported in the ACER Data Explorer.
From the Students page, these test may be re-opened to allow students to complete them:
- Click the student's name to open their profile.
- Click Tests to view their test history.The affected test will be marked Invalid.
- Click the three dots at the right of the test to re-open the test.
- The student may log in and resume the test.