• Associated Instructional Materials:
  • Video: How To Make a Focus List
  • Article: Focus List – Using a Focus List on Ad Hoc reports
  • Article: Focus List – Using a Focus List in Custom reports

The Focus List functionality in OnDataSuite allows you to create a subset list of students or staff in various ways and then apply that Focus List to either an Ad-hoc (Report Center) or Custom Report.

Once a Focus List is created, it is not to be used as the base report to build upon. It is to be applied to either an existing (custom) report or to an Ad-Hoc report built in Student or Staff Report Centers.

Using a Focus List in custom reports

Focus lists can be applied to several custom reports within the system by selecting them from available drop down menus. Custom reports are already built within the system and do not allow or require a user to add filter criteria unless available from drop down menu items like the example shown below.

Note: Remember that when a focus list is applied, the returned reported values will be filtered down to only the found students or staff within an applied focus list.

For example if you were to run a report for all of your returning 6th grade students from a fall submission. Your returned list value might be 150 students. Now you apply your Special Ed focus list that has 300 students to the search and hit submit. The returned list value may now be 85 students because out of the 150 returning 6th grade students, only 85 were BOTH in 6th grade AND also Special Ed.

Using a Focus List on Ad Hoc Reports

Focus lists can be applied to all Student, Assessment and Staff Report Centers in two stages:

First: prior to making selections from the items listed within each report center item the Focus List can be selected.

In the example below we first would select the focus list PRIOR to starting our query.

Step 1- Create your focus list

Step 2- Use the drop down above the Report Center to select the desired Focus List. (shown above)

Step 3- Build the ad hoc report and click create.

NOTE: If using multiple years when building the ad hoc report, keep in mind that the focus list may contain student/staff data for only 1 year.

Second: Create an Ad-Hoc report and generate the results.

From the report results , the left menu Report Options includes the option to add a Focus List to the report.