Calling all Data Geeks!
Corey McAfee
October 24, 2014
File Access
Lower case ‘L’
http://goo.gl/VlQGzl
Topics Covered
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Conditional Formatting
Find/Replace
Sorting
Filtering
Using Named Ranges
Advanced Formulas (IF,VLOOKUP)
Pivot Tables
Conditional Formatting
Basics
 Automatically apply formatting to cells based on
the value
 Can apply to a single column/row or an entire
sheet
 Can use built-in or custom rules/formats
 Can use multiple rules
Conditional Formatting
How-To
Conditional Formatting
Application
In the Comprehensive Data File:
 Highlight in red students with a score of less than 200
(“Highlight Cells Rules”)
 Highlight in green students with a score of 200 or above
(“Highlight Cells Rules”)
 Clear the above formats, then highlight all students with
above average scores (“Top/Bottom Rules”)
 Highlight the entire row for all students with a test
duration of less than 25 minutes
Find/Replace
Basics
 Quickly find specific text
 Quickly replace with other text
Find/Replace
How-To
Find/Replace
Application
In the Comprehensive Data File:
 Find the first student in the CDF
who scored 210
 Replace all instances of your school’s
name with a different name (only in
the SchoolName column)
Sorting
Basics
 Sort Excel data on one column
 Sort Excel data on multiple columns
 Sort in ascending or descending
order
Sorting
How-To
Sorting
Application
In the Comprehensive Data File:
 Sort scores in ascending order
 Sort by test subject in ascending
order, then by scores in ascending
order
Filtering
Basics
 Filter your Excel data if you only want to display
records that meet certain criteria
 To remove the filter for a single column, click
the filter arrow and select “Clear filter from…”
 To remove the filter from all columns, on the
Data tab, click Clear
 To remove the filter AND the arrows, click
Filter
Filtering
How-To
Filtering
Application
In the Comprehensive Data File:
 Filter to show only a single test
subject
 Remove filtering arrows
Named Ranges
Basics
 A range in Excel is a collection of two or more
cells
 Drag/select the cell or range of cells to be
named
 Click in the Name box, to the left of the formula
bar, and type a name
 Edit the name/range using Name Manager on
the Formulas tab
Named Ranges
How-To
IF Function
Basics
 The IF function checks whether a
condition is met
 Returns one value if TRUE and
another value if FALSE
 Syntax:
=IF(logical_test, value_if_true, [value_if_false])
IF Function
How-To
Nested IF Function
How-To
AND/OR Functions
Basics
 The AND function returns TRUE if all
conditions are true and returns FALSE if
any of the conditions are false
 The OR function returns TRUE if any of
the conditions are true and returns
FALSE if all conditions are false
AND/OR Functions
How-To
IF/AND/OR Functions
Application
In the Comprehensive Data File:
Insert a new column for the function, then
 Write a function to identify students with a test
duration less than 15 minutes
 Write a function to identify students with a test
duration less than 20 minutes AND a score less than
190
 Write a function to identify students with a test
duration less than 20 minutes OR a score less than 190
VLOOKUP Function
Basics
 The VLOOKUP (Vertical Lookup) function
looks for a value in the LEFTMOST column
of a table or range, and then returns a value
in the same row from a column you specify
 Syntax:
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array,
col_index_num, [range_lookup])
VLOOKUP Function
How-To
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
 lookup_value: Required.
 The value you would like to search in the first column of the lookup table or
range. The lookup_value argument can be a value or a reference. If the value you
supply for the lookup_value argument isn’t found in the first column of the
table_array argument, VLOOKUP returns the #N/A error value.
 table_array: Required.
 The range of cells that contains the data you want to search. You can use a
reference to a range (for example, A2:D8), or a named range. The values in the
first column of table_array are the values searched by lookup_value. Uppercase
and lowercase text are equivalent.
VLOOKUP Function
How-To
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
 col_index_num: Required.
 The column number in the table_array argument from which the matching value
must be returned. A col_index_num argument of 1 returns the value in the first
column in table_array; a col_index_num of 2 returns the value in the second
column in table_array, and so on.
 If the col_index_num argument is:
 Less than 1,VLOOKUP returns the #VALUE! error value.
 Greater than the number of columns in table_array, VLOOKUP returns
the #REF! error value.
VLOOKUP Function
How-To
=VLOOKUP(lookup_value, table_array, col_index_num, [range_lookup])
 range_lookup: Optional, but critical.
 A logical value that specifies whether you want VLOOKUP to find an exact match
or an approximate match:
 If range_lookup is either TRUE (or 1) or is omitted, an exact or approximate
match is returned. If an exact match is not found, the next largest value that
is less than lookup_value is returned.
 If the range_lookup argument is FALSE (or 0),VLOOKUP will find only an
exact match. If there are two or more values in the first column of
table_array that match the lookup_value, the first value found is used,
meaning that SORT ORDER CAN BE CRITICAL. If an exact match is not
found, the error value #N/A is returned.
 As data geeks, we will almost ALWAYS use FALSE.
VLOOKUP
Application
In the Comprehensive Data File:
 Starting with the StudentID column, select to the right to
TestRIT and down to the bottom of the CDF
 Name the range
 Copy a few rows from the StudentID column and paste to
Column A(1) in a new worksheet (name your columns!)
 Write a VLOOKUP in Column B(2) to pull TestRIT into your
sample worksheet
 If you have time, try to pull student names from the “Student
List By School” into your “Assessment Results”
Pivot Tables
Basics
 Pivot tables are one of Excel's most
powerful time-saving features
 A pivot table allows you to extract
the significance from a large, complex
data set
Pivot Tables
How-To
Pivot Tables
How-To
Pivot Tables
How-To
Pivot Table
Application
 Determine how many Math tests were taken
 Determine how many individual students took the Math test
 Determine the percentage of students whose test duration
was between 30 and 40 minutes
 Generate a facsimile of the CDF only containing students who
scored a 200 in Reading (don’t use filtering in the CDF)
 Generate a table showing the average RIT score in all subjects
 If you have time, generate a table showing average test RIT for
10 minute test-duration groups, then generate a Pivot Chart
representing this data
Questions?
Corey McAfee
Assessment and Research Analyst, The New America School
cmcafee@newamericaschool.org