Teacher Data

Sinclair User

Gilbert Factor 8/10

GOLD STAR FOR RESULTS STORAGE Teacher Data, for the 48K Spectrum, is an educational program not because it will teach pupils but because it will help teachers to grade examination results. The program will work out all the statistics required to measure examination achievement and will even assign a grade, between A and E, to each pupil. Records of test passes and failures can be sorted separately on tape. The teacher could create separate files for each form in a school or college. If a teacher requires a quick readout of information, the program will create a histogram showing the results of pupils; means and standard deviation can also be calculated for further research. The program, written by a teacher, is aimed at teachers in state schools and colleges. It will store up to 400 names in one session, so several big classes can be dealt with at once or even for a whole year. The calculation part of the program is menu-driven. The menu is cursor-controlled, so you have to move the cursor to the option on the list and press 's' for 'select'. The computer will give you a chance to reselect when you press 's' in case you make a mistake. Unfortunately the cursor symbol moves down the list on its own when not under user control, so you have only a limited amount of time to press the 's' key. That is shown as a plus in the package but we regard it as a minus. Teacher Data receives A-plus so far as we are concerned. It can be obtained from Brian Farris, [redacted] and costs £5.20. A version for the 16K Spectrum, with scaled-down features, costs £3.80.

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