CASPA and your existing assessment data
Many schools already have a wealth of assessment data for their pupils, much of which may be held in electronic form. In keeping with our principle that data should be entered once and used many times, we are endeavouring to ensure that, wherever possible, appropriate types of assessment data can be imported directly into CASPA without the need for re-keying of data. CASPA already has features to import assessment data from a number of commercially-available assessment packages as well as more generic file types.
Importing data into CASPA from commercial assessment packages
CASPA is a tool primarily for the analysis of assessment data; where schools use commercially-available packages to assist them in assessing the attainment of pupils, CASPA’s import features allow access to CASPA’s analysis and bench-marking without the need for laborious double-entry of results.
When working alongside such packages, CASPA allows users to either import their data as a ‘one-off’ exercise for subsequent maintenance in CASPA, or allows the external package to be treated as the definitive repository of assessment results, with read-only data imported into CASPA being refreshed as and when necessary.
CASPA currently has import and refresh facilities available from the following packages; for further details about the interaction of CASPA with these systems, please click the links below:
Importing data into CASPA from other sources
In order to extend the principle of entering data once and using it many times to the widest range of users and types of data, features within CASPA are available for the import of assessment results and targets from the following types of files. For further information about the interaction of CASPA with these sources, please click on the links below:
- Common Transfer Files (statutory assessment data only)
- SIMS.net Assessment Manager 7 XML results file
- Excel spreadsheets
Due to the nature of these sources of information, the import of data from these files has been designed primarily as a ‘one-off’ process to allow existing assessment and target data to be imported into CASPA, with subsequent maintenance of assessment and target data taking place within CASPA.