Working With Data (Descriptive Stats): Excel

Summary & What I Learned

     Today I learned about the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The NCES website is a government run website through which collected and analyzed data is presented to the public. The NCES collects data on a national scale and therefore, is able to present data comparing state scores across the country.

     To keep the data organized, there is a simple selection process through which the essential data is targeted, minimizing what is presented. Statistics are available for fourth grade, eighth grade, and twelth grade for reading, mathematics, science, and writing. Comparisons can be made by gender, race/ethnicity, lunch eligibility, and percentiles. Data can be displayed from a single year or across years. The data available shows scores every other year from 2000 to 2011. Once the selections are made, a data table will be displayed which can also be exported into Microsoft Excel.

 

 

     In Excel, formulas can be applied to the data for a particular use. In a recent stats class, I learned to compute single columns of data one formula at a time. Today, I learned to gather descriptive statistics with just a few clicks using state comparison data from NCES using an Excel add-in. I chose to analyze grade 4 reading scores from 2011 by gender.

 

What I Did

     After exporting the data I wanted from the NCES website, I had to install an add-in for Excel in order to gather the descriptive statistics. Below, are the steps I took to get the add-in.

1. Went to Office button
2. Clicked on Excel options
3. Clicked on Add-ins
4. Chose the Analysis ToolPax

Below are the steps I took to get the stats.

1. Chose Data from toolbar
2. Clicked on new Data Analysis button
3. Chose Descriptive Statistics
4. Clicked an dragged cursor to select data in one column
5. Checked box for Summary Statistics

The data and analysis opened in a new sheet. I double clicked on the new tab to rename the sheet.

I created yet another sheet where I could place a scatter plot of the data for quick reading. This is what I did.

1. Went back to original sheet
2. Chose Insert from toolbar
3. Clicked on Scatter (chose which look I liked)
4. Clicked on Select Data
5. Clicked and dragged to select data
6. Changed axis titles
7. Copy and pasted into new sheet

View Screencast

 

How I Would Use It

     The NCES website is a reliable source through which to gather data for research and papers. I inted to reference it the next time I am in need of statistics regarding local or national schools and students.

     Excel can be a great resource for collecting, organizing, and analyzing data for qantitative research. I intend to use it for these purposes while gathering data for my Teacher Work Sample and as I conduct action research in the class room.

     For my elementary students, I envision them using what they know about charts from mathematics to create charts of their own using Excel. This way, they will be able to manage their own data in order to create accurate and attractive graphs in a most efficient manner.

 

Standards Reflection

     Conducting  educational research using digital age tools towards a goal of evaluating and reflecting upon teaching practices in order to better support student learning meets standard Five "c" of the ISTE-NETS-T’s standards. 

     Adapting educational experiences by incorporating student use of digital applications such as Excel meets standard two of the ISTE-NETS-T’s standards and it's components.