Importing Tracking Data into SIMS

1. Log into SIMS

2. Go to Routines > Data In > Assessment > Import From Spreadsheet

3. You need to open the “export.csv” file (or other csv file containing assessment data) you wish to import. As SIMS runs on a remotely hosted virtual machine, the drive is not the “Local Disk (C:)”, as this is the drive on the remote computer. If you have followed the export from e1 instructions, typing \\tsclient\C\export.csv in the file name box should find the correct file. Otherwise open the “C on Computer Name” and navigate to find the csv file you wish to import. In the example below the Computer is named “HEADSLT”.

You can import any spreadsheet (saved as a csv file), so long as the first row contains column headers. Only levels which exist within the grade set can be imported: whole levels (4), sub levels (4b), working towards (W), P Levels (P4). Other, non-standard, grades (eg. 4a/b, 4.3, <2, B2 etc.) will not be imported, and you will see these listed in a report at the end of the import process.

4.Now match each column to a SIMS assessment “Aspect”.

Click in a grey box above the pupil names.

Select the appropriate Aspect – either

NPT Subject Level or NPT Subject Target .

Choose the Result Set for the appropriate year and term.

Continue matching each column to an assessment, skipping any unused assessments.

Then click Next.

5. Check that the pupils match the pupils held in SIMS. If the import file was exported from e1, all pupils should match as the databases should be identical.

Click Finish and check the report:

As the imported data will contain many blank results, there will be a lengthy “error” report. Check for any results which could not be imported and make a note. If importing from e1, all results should import without errors.

Note: the first release of the grade set did not allow the subdivision of Wc, Wb and Wa. This has been fixed from June 2011. If you have errors reporting that Wc, Wb or Wa cannot be imported, please contact ICT solutions helpdesk.

You may wish to check the NPT Data Checking marksheets, to check all data is imported correctly. The import process only imports levels and targets, all value added measures (and the overall English levels) need to be calculated on marksheets within SIMS.

John Crowley

1st June 2011