Sonar TrackerGrades
File health check messages
Sisra Analytics checks every file after you map its columns and before it saves anything. This page lists the messages for grade, student data, Attitude to Learning (AtL) judgement and baseline files, what each one means and what to do. In the messages, X stands for a number and [column] for one or more column names.
Messages for Expected Attainment Pathway (EAP) and custom Attainment 8 estimate imports are on Set up EAPs for KS3/4 and Create custom Attainment 8 estimates.
How the check works
Section titled “How the check works”The check page is named after the data set, such as Upload File - Exams, and has a File Health Check section. Each problem is an error or a warning:
- an error stops the upload, so you fix the file and start again
- a warning lets you carry on, and you can fix the problem in Sisra afterwards
Show/Hide Errors and Show/Hide Warnings list the pupils or students, rows or columns affected. Upload Summary (Import Summary for student data) counts what the file holds, such as “X Grade(s) will be uploaded.”, “X Student(s) are included in the file.” and “X Qualification(s) are included in the file.” Check these counts even when the check finds nothing.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Cancel the upload | Abandons the upload. Sisra asks “This will cancel the current process. All changes will be undone. Are you sure?” |
| Back to mapping | Returns to the column mapping, to choose different columns |
| Continue with the upload | Uploads the file, accepting any warnings |
| Continue with the upload and truncate any values | Shown instead of Continue with the upload when values are too long. Uploads the file and cuts the values to the limit. |
Student data and core baseline imports use “import” for “upload”, such as Cancel the import.
Messages for any file
Section titled “Messages for any file”These can appear for any kind of file, while Sisra reads it or maps its columns.
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “The file submitted does not contain valid data. Please check that the file has been saved as .csv, .xlsx, .xls, or .xml and contains a header row plus at least 1 row of data.” | Sisra could not find any data. In a student data file, the usual cause is a Subject or Class column that is blank in every row. | Check the file type, the header row and the mapped columns |
| “The file is not in the correct format.” | The file is not .csv, .xlsx, .xls or .xml | Save it in one of those formats |
| “Some rows in the file had more columns than others. Please ensure that the file contains no commas and is correctly formatted.” | A CSV file has commas inside cells, often between surname and first name, or hidden columns | In Excel, replace the commas with nothing or a semicolon and delete hidden columns. Save and upload again. |
| “One or more rows do not contain the Student Id and/or Name. Please ensure every row has this data.” | Rows with no Student ID or name, or hidden content below the data | Fill in or delete those rows, including any below the last row of data |
| “One or more rows do not contain a Qualification/Subject Name and/or Grade. Please ensure every row has this data.” | Rows in a grade list with no qualification or no grade | Fill in or delete the rows |
| “The file’s column headers contained duplicates, which is not valid for this upload type. Please upload a suitable file.” | Two columns share a heading. It may be a hidden column, or stray content after the last column. | Rename the duplicate, or delete the columns after the data |
| “Column(s) [column] in the file’s column headers had a blank value, which is not valid for this upload type. Please upload a suitable file.” | A column holds data but has no heading | Add a heading or delete the column |
| “Could not find row X of the file to use as column headers. Please ensure the correct header row value is provided and the file is not empty.” | The row number you gave for the headings does not exist | Check the row number. Do not count blank rows at the top, which Sisra removes. |
| “Some columns in the file contain values exceeding the allowed length. Please check the column(s): [column]” | A value is longer than Sisra allows | Shorten the values. The limits are in the next table. |
| “Some columns in the file are mapped to required fields, but contain blank values. Please check the file column(s): [column]” | A required column, such as Student ID, has blank cells | Fill them in, or delete the rows |
| “Row X in the provided file had X columns, but this upload requires a file with X columns. Please upload a suitable file.” | The file has the wrong number of columns for this kind of upload | Use the layout the upload expects |
Sisra removes commas inside cells of other file types without a message. These are the longest values it accepts:
| Value | KS3/4 | KS5 |
|---|---|---|
| Student ID | 20 characters | 20 characters |
| Student name | 60 characters | 60 characters |
| Subject or class in student data | 60 and 30 characters | 60 and 30 characters |
| Staff initials | 5 characters | 5 characters |
| Filter value | 40 characters | 40 characters |
| Column heading | 40 characters | 40 characters |
| Qualification name | 80 characters | 60 characters |
| Grade | 15 characters | 12 characters |
| AtL judgement | 15 characters | 15 characters |
Grade files
Section titled “Grade files”| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “X Student(s) that do not have any student data or the Student IDs are not recognised.” | A warning. Some Student IDs in the file are not in the cohort’s student data. | If they belong in the cohort, continue, then import student data that includes them or add them by hand. If they do not, continue and delete their grades, or cancel and remove them from the file. If many are flagged, compare the IDs with the student list. |
| “X Student(s) that have conflicting grades for a qualification.” | A warning. Someone has two grades in one qualification, such as 8 and 7 in Art. | If you meant it, such as for a resit, continue. If not, cancel, remove the extra grades and upload again. |
| “X Student ID(s) that do not contain a number.” | IDs with no digits, often because the wrong column is mapped | Check the mapping and the IDs |
| “Error - It appears that one or more of your Student ID’s are too long.” | An error. An ID is longer than 20 characters. | Check the mapping and the IDs |
| “X Column(s) exceed the maximum length that can be uploaded.” | Values are longer than the limits | Shorten them, or continue and let Sisra cut them |
| “X row(s) may be preventing the file from uploading. Please check these before re-submitting.” | Rows that Sisra cannot read | Use Show/Hide Errors to find them, fix them and upload again |
| “X Student(s) have incomplete data.” | KS5 only. Grades with no Student ID or name. | Cancel, fix the rows and upload again |
| “X level(s) exceed the maximum number of 1 decimal place. These levels will be truncated to 1 decimal place by removing any excess decimals.” | Grades with more than one decimal place | Continue to cut them, or correct the file |
| “The qualification limit has been exceeded (currently set to 140). Please cancel the upload or select existing qualifications” | Shown on Confirm Upload Qualification Names. The cohort would have more than 140 qualifications. | Merge new names into existing qualifications, or cancel |
When there are two grades in one qualification, KS3/4 school measures count the first entry and KS5 counts the best grade. Upload grades explains how.
Student data files
Section titled “Student data files”| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “The current cohort limit of 650 has been exceeded. Please cancel the import and check that the correct student IDs have been used, and that there is only one cohort in the file.” | The file would take the cohort over 650 | Check that the file holds one cohort, with the IDs you used before. Juniper can raise a KS5 cohort’s limit to 2,500. |
| “You may be using different Student ID’s to those already imported. Please check the Import Summary and your data before you continue” | Many IDs differ from those the cohort already has | Check that you exported the same ID field as last time. Cancel if not. |
| “X Student(s) sharing X student id(s).” | Different names share a Student ID | Correct the IDs in the MIS export |
| “Values in your student ID column exceed the maximum length that can be imported.” | An ID is longer than 20 characters | Check the mapping and the IDs |
| “X Student id(s) that does not contain a number.” | IDs with no digits | Check the mapping and the IDs |
| “X Student name(s) that contain a number.” | Names with digits, often because the ID and name columns are swapped | Check the mapping |
| “X Student(s) that have at least one filter conflict. Please resolve the filter conflicts displayed in the error list, cancel the import and try importing the file again.” | Someone has different values for one filter on different rows, such as Y and N for Looked After | Use Show/Hide Errors to find them, cancel, make the values match, then import again |
| “X Student(s) with name changes (across all collections)” | KS5 only. Names differ from earlier imports. | Check that the changes are real before you continue |
| “No potential issues have been identified in your import file. Please check the Cohort Summary information below before completing the import.” | The check found nothing | Check the counts, then complete the import |
Import student data covers the import options.
AtL judgement files
Section titled “AtL judgement files”| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “X Student(s) that have multiple Judgements for a qualification.” | Someone has two judgements in one qualification, such as two rows for maths | Cancel, remove the extra row and import again |
| “X Student(s) that do not have any student data or the Student IDs are not recognised.” | Some Student IDs are not in the cohort | As for grade files: continue and add or delete them, or cancel and fix the file |
| “X Student(s) have incomplete data.” | KS5 only. Judgements with no Student ID or name. | Cancel, fix the rows and import again |
| “The file submitted does not contain valid data. Please check that the file has been saved as CSV (MS-DOS), there are no blank student IDs and that the file contains a header row.” | Sisra found no judgements it could import, often because the Student IDs are blank | Cancel, check the IDs, save the file as CSV and import again |
After the check, every qualification in the file must pair with a qualification that has grades in the data set, or be set to Do Not Include. Sisra does not continue until each one is paired or excluded.
Baseline files
Section titled “Baseline files”KS2 and EAP baseline files
Section titled “KS2 and EAP baseline files”These apply to KS2 core baselines and EAP baselines at KS3/4, and to EAP baselines at KS5.
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “X Student(s) that do not have any student data or the Student IDs are not recognised.” | Some Student IDs are not in the cohort | As for grade files. If many are flagged, compare the IDs with the student list, then cancel and upload the file with the right IDs. |
| “X Student(s) that have conflicting grades for a qualification.” | Someone has two values for one subject | Cancel, remove the wrong row and upload again |
| “X Student(s) have incomplete data.” | KS5 only. A value with no Student ID or name. | Cancel, fix the rows and upload again |
At KS5, the first two messages leave out “that”. KS2 values can have up to 5 decimal places; Sisra cuts any more. If you replace fine levels with 2 decimal places by ones with 5, Sisra suggests changing the grade type to NC Fine Levels (5dp).
KS4 core baseline files
Section titled “KS4 core baseline files”These apply to the KS4 core baselines of a KS5 cohort.
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| “X Student(s) do not have any student data or the Student IDs are not recognised.” | Some Student IDs are not in the cohort | Unlike grade files, cancel. Add the students to the cohort, or remove them from the file, then import again. |
| “X Student(s) have incomplete student data” | A value with no Student ID or name | Cancel, fix the rows and import again |
| “X Student(s) have conflicting points for a baseline.” | Someone is in the file twice with different values, such as for KS4 APS All (A8 Pts) | Cancel, remove the extra row and import again |
| “X Student(s) have multiple names” | One Student ID has different names in the file | Cancel, correct the names and import again |
| “X Column(s) exceed the maximum length that can be imported.” | Values are longer than the limits. Sisra does not offer to cut them. | Cancel, shorten the values and import again |
Each of these stops the import until you fix the file. The import summary also counts students with at least one blank baseline.