printing out student grades in a graphical way

[jonobugs]

I created a list that grades students and I would like to be able to print out a report on a particular student that shows those grades in more of a graphical representation.

I originally used word to do this and all I did was create a heading that listed the marks along the top and the categories in the first column, for example:

             Outstanding - Very Good - Good - Satisfactory - NS - Poor
Writing                                             x       
Reading                             x      
Attitude                        x

etc..

I used this report function because it was easy for the parents to see. However, as you can imagine, using word was really not the right tool and I went with Access 2007 (it's what I have).

I'm really happy that I went to a database format, but I'm having problems showing the grades in a more graphical way. Right now, it just reports the grades but the parents preferred the other format.

Is there anyway to do this in Access? I'm sure some smart cookie out there knows how I can do this. I tried using the graph function, but I quickly got lost with that and it didn't seem to work the way I wanted.

Thanks for any help!

Jonathan

 

[JHB]

Use a cross tab query.
If you can't get it, the show some sample data in Excel or in a Database, (zip it).

 

[jonobugs]

I've never used crosstabs, and after looking at them, I'm completely baffled on how to use them for what I want.

Perhaps I set up my database incorrectly, which is why I'm experiencing difficulty.

part of the table columns look like this:

StudentID     Enthusiasm     Homework     Listening Skills     Reading     Writing

The studentID is linked to the student name, and all the others are linked to to a list table which has a different grade: outstanding, very good, good, satisfactory, NS, poor

These reports are shared with the parents for their children and when I print out a report it looks similar to this:

Enthusiasm:       very good
Homework:         very good
Listening Skills: good
Reading:          satisfactory
Writing:          good

But I would prefer it to print out more like the example I showed previously as it shows the results in way that is quick and easy to understand.

I'm willing to change the way I do the tables now, but I'm at a loss on how to do that. I tried playing around with crosstabs, but I really don't understand how they work and I am looking to show just one record at a time and not show the total of all the students.

If you would still like me to upload a sample database, I will, but I would need to change the values to expunge any sensitive data.

 

[JHB]

...
Perhaps I set up my database incorrectly, which is why I'm experiencing difficulty.
...
If you would still like me to upload a sample database, I will, but I would need to change the values to expunge any sensitive data.

It could maybe be that, if it is correct or not, depend also of how your data looks.
So if you could post the database then ... !

 

[jonobugs]

Sorry for being difficult. I had to change a lot of data and tables to erase any personal info. All the names have been changed, so it took a bit of time to do that.

The file was created with Access 2007. The form and print form are intact, but I had to change the form because it wasn't working after I deleted some tables. However, I put in a generic form that works just fine.

Really, the only thing that I'm looking to do at this point is printing out the scores in a more graphical way. I really appreciate the time you're taking to look at this. I hope you can help me!

Cheers,

Jonathan

 

[JHB]

I'm able to help you, but I need to know how would you place 11 ratings (all ratings from the RatingT table), across a report, (column), you are running out of space I think?
Could you give me some advice, (you could show them vertical)?
I also need to know in which order you want them?

 

[jonobugs]

Originally, I had wanted to do a graph with the subjects along the bottom and ratings going vertically. However, I was unable to make a simple graph in Access like I could do in Excel. At least, I was unable to do it.

My boss then asked me to do a rating system from Outstanding to Poor. That's where the ratings came from. If I were to implement them, I would not use all 11 ratings as 5 of them are just the ones between the others. So, I would only use six labels with a selection in the middle to indicate an in-between state. I attached 2 pictures to indicate what they might look like.

To be honest, I'm happy with any graphical way that would be very easy to understand at a glance.

 

[JHB]

Sorry but more question, in the graph how do you rate, you've from 0 to 100 on the Y-axis?
And another question, why do you not printout what you show in the second picture, (eval.jpg)?
Then it looks for my exactly what you're asking for.

 

[jonobugs]

Sorry, I wasn't being consistent. I was just trying to show examples of what I would like to do, not what I have done.

I did the one with the graph in a quick Excel sheet and just used a percentage scale from 1 - 100%.

For me, that would be preferable rather than a point scale from 1 - 11 as in my first example, but either would be fine.

 

[jonobugs]

I forgot to add that I did try and print out something like that, but it wouldn't work. The only way I could get it to work would be to do a single report for every student. If I try to do all the students at once, the graph just sums up all the students I'm doing evaluations and gives me an average. The graphing function in Access is very confusing for me and I wasn't really able to figure it out.

 

[JHB]

Sorry, I wasn't being consistent. I was just trying to show examples of what I would like to do, not what I have done.

Okay, I've made the report as you wanted in your post #1, you need to rearrange it as you like it, (database attached)!

I did the one with the graph in a quick Excel sheet and just used a percentage scale from 1 - 100%.

For me, that would be preferable rather than a point scale from 1 - 11 as in my first example, but either would be fine.

I'll see if I can get some ideas, but maybe first in next week!

 

[jonobugs]

Thanks for all your help! I'll take a look at it and see if I can integrate it into my database. I'm a bit confused with crosstabs because I haven't used them before.

 

[JHB]

The graph wasn't so hard to get as I've thought!