Using the Numeracy Database
Here are a series of instructions for using the Numeracy Database. If more detailed answers are
needed teachers should consult with facilitators in their region.
The front page.
The front page of the Numeracy Database (below) provides you with three options: Create a new
account; 2004 school account creation page; and Log in.
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If you already have an account in the 2005 Numeracy Database you should use your
institution number and password to log in.
If you are a school new to the project you should choose to 'create a new account'.
If you have existing data and/or demographic information from 2004 in the Numeracy
Database which you wish to be able to access you should choose the '2004 school
account creation page'.
Creating a new account.
Clicking on the 'Create a new account' link opens a page where you are asked to enter your
school institution number, a contact email address and a password (below). Please note that
these details will apply for your whole school so choose an appropriate contact email address
such as your school office. Please ensure that you use the correct institution number as only one
account can be set up for any institution number.
If you attempt to create an account using an institution number that has already been used you
will get an error message saying 'Please correct the following: Institution Number is already in
use.' If you do not know the details which were used to create the account, return to the front
page, enter your institution number and select the 'Forgotten password?' box, then click 'OK'. The
password will be emailed to the assigned email address for that institution number, and you will
be told what email address this is.
Creating an account for schools with 2004 data.
If you have existing data and/or demographic information from 2004 in the Numeracy Database
which you wish to be able to access you should choose the '2004 school account creation page'
(below). This allows you to enter your account details from the 2004 database while you are
creating your 2005 account. If you do so, the student demographic information and data from
2004 will automatically be made available in your 2005 account. See Reorganising classes. for
how to allocate students from 2004 to 2005 classes.
Logging in.
To log in you need to enter your school's institution number and password in the boxes then click
ok. If you do not know the details which were used to create the account, enter your institution
number and select the 'Forgotten password?' box, then click 'OK'. The password will be emailed
to the assigned email address for that institution number, and you will be told what email address
this is.
If you are in a Maori medium school, and wish to enter data in the columns related to language
use, select the 'Te Poutama Tau' box.
Once you have logged in you will have access to all information for your school. The menu down
the right hand side of the screen (see below) allows you to add to, edit, or download this
information.
Updating school details.
Once you have logged in, choosing 'Update account' from the menu on the right hand side of the
page allows you to change your school's allocated email address or password. Simply enter the
new information and click update.
Facilitator access.
If you have a facilitator working in your school they may require access to your data. Rather than
using your school log in details they can create a facilitator account, and request the ability to
view your results for the current year (but not edit them). If they do so you will receive a
notification message when you next log in to your school account.
If you choose to accept them, click on the '+' link (below). You can return to the Facilitators page
at any time and remove their access to your data. Please note that participation in the Numeracy
Project professional development may include a requirement of data access for your facilitator.
Adding/editing classes.
Clicking on the 'Edit classes' option on the menu allows you to add, delete, or rename classes
(below).
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To add a new class, enter the name of the class in the text box, then click 'Add'.
To delete a class, choose the check box beside that class, then click 'Delete'.
To rename a class, choose the check box beside that class, enter the new name in the
text box, then click 'Change'.
Adding/editing student demographic information.
To add students to a class choose the 'Edit students' option from the menu.
Select the class you wish to add the students to from the dropdown and click refresh. This will
show you all the students currently in that class. If the class you wish to add students to does not
exist you may need to add it (see Adding/editing classes).
Click 'Add' to add a new student
Enter the biographical information for that student, then click 'Update'. All categories except for
name are compulsory.
To edit details for a student, click on the 'Edit' link beside that student. Ensure that you click
'Update' when you have finished making changes.
In response to requests from the Pasifika community it is now possible to allocate subgroups to
Pasifika students. If 'Pasifika' is selected in the ethnicity dropdown, a second dropdown appears
(below) with various nationalities to select from. If your school does not wish to differentiate
between Pasifika subgroups you should ignore this dropdown.
Adding/editing student data.
To add student data you must first choose the class and 'Data entry' number to add it under and
then click 'Refresh'. You can enter up to 4 sets of data for each student in a given year, though it
is unlikely that more than 2 will be required. It is suggested that you use the same data entry for
all students in your school (ie. if some teachers enter both start of year and end of year data, they
should use data entries 1 and 2, but if others enter only end of year data, they should use data
entry 2, to be consistent).
Once you have chosen the class and the number of the data entry to edit, you will see all of the
students for that class, and all their data for that data entry. To add/edit data click the 'Edit' button
beside the student for which you wish to add/edit data. This will give you a selection of
dropdowns to complete. You can choose to complete as many or as few dropdowns as you wish.
Note that schools which are funded to participate in the Numeracy Project professional
development are required to complete all categories except GloSS.
Reorganising classes.
The facility to move students between classes is one of the strengths of the Numeracy Database.
Students from one year are automatically available in an unallocated class for the next year. This
means that teachers do not have to reenter biographical information in successive years.
Teachers can also track student data over several years.
To move students from one class to another, first choose 'Reorganise classes' from the menu.
Choose the source and destination classes in the two drop downs and click 'Refresh'. This should
give you a list of all the students in each of those two classes. The small +/- buttons can be used
to expand or reduce these lists. Select the check box beside the students you wish to move and
click 'Move'. They should now appear in the destination class.
Creating reports.
This feature will be available in September, and will be similar to the reporting feature available in
the 2004 Numeracy Database.
Downloading data.
Clicking on the 'Download data' link in the menu gives you four options for downloading data:
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HTML: A webpage.
XML: A widely useable data format.
Microsoft Excel: Spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel.
CSV: Comma Separated Value file - this file will be openable in Excel as well as in other
applications.
Macintosh users may not be able to use the Microsoft Excel option. They should save a CSV file
to their computer and open it using Excel.