Excel Add-Ons

For the most part, I think that anyone that uses a computer has had some dealings with Excel or another spreadsheet program. Spreadsheets are not hard to create, but if you really want your work load to be completed efficiently, then spreadsheets can be a valuable must-have tool if proper formulas and valid information are present!

For today’s assignment, I had to look at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to compare my home state’s score to the rest of the country. The first thing I had to do was search NCES for the data on the average reading scores for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the National public. Once I entered the criteria, the data was available in a spreadsheet format.  I then downloaded the information to Excel so that I could work with the data.

The next step was to sort the total scores by lowest to highest. Once this was done, I needed to adjust the options of this spreadsheet to include an add-on called Analysis ToolPak so I could analyze the scores. It was pretty easy to add ToolPak as an add-on and once I did, I used it to create a Total Scores Descriptive Statistics spreadsheet. The data in this spreadsheet showed the overall average, mode, median, standard deviation, skewness and other information relevant when looking at the data as a whole. This is where the information became interesting and for me somewhat dismal. Interesting because it showed how states compared to each other in reading and dismal because I realized that WV is not doing so well! West Virginia is number 10 on the list which is below average. There are 9 below WV and 43 above WV, so you can see why my reaction was disappointment.

To see the information in graph form, I created a scatter plot chart to show the severity of my state’s position compared to others. The scatter plot can be viewed at Average Reading Scores.  By looking at the scatter plot, I think a person can really see the results and relate to the urgency of the need for education reform in reading!

 

Since this activity dealt with manipulating a data set to use as a comparison for the average reading score of the 50 states, D.C. and the national public, it complies with the ISTE.NETS.T standard number two, Model Digital-Age Work and Learning. I think this standard applies to this activity because the teacher can use Excel to help students look at data and manipulate it in a spreadsheet in order to utilize it. Just having the numbers in a spreadsheet is not enough. The teacher can show the students how to use formulas and add-ons in spreadsheets to compare, combine, and examine information more effectively.