Pivot Tables: Finding Patterns

Averages lie. Pivot tables don't.

A class average tells you almost nothing. "Our class average on Quiz 1 was 74" — but who scored what? Were the boys and girls scoring the same? Did one period crash while another thrived? Was there an ELL gap?

In this module you'll build two real pivot tables — in Google Sheets — that will change how you think about your future students.

Open your dataset in Google Sheets.

Two clicks. First download the dataset, then open a blank Google Sheet and import the CSV. Takes about 30 seconds.

1. Download gradebook.csv
2. Open a new Google Sheet
3. In the new sheet: File → Import → Upload, choose the CSV you just downloaded, and set Import location to "Replace spreadsheet".

Sign in with any Google account. The sheet lives in your Drive — we can't see it.

Build the pivot. In Sheets.

In your copy of the gradebook, do this:

1. Click anywhere in your gradebook data.
2. Insert → Pivot table. When it asks where to put it, choose New sheet.
3. In the pivot editor on the right:
   • Rows: period
   • Values: quiz1_wk2 → summarize by AVERAGE
4. Look at the three averages.

Stuck? Tap the assistant in the corner — it'll walk you through it.

Here's what you should be seeing.

(For reference — this is what your pivot in Sheets should look like.)

Now pivot by IEP status.

Back to your sheet. You can edit the same pivot table you already built — no need to start over:

1. Click any cell inside your pivot table to re-open the editor.
2. Under Rows, click X next to period to remove it.
3. Click Add next to Rows → pick iep.
4. Leave Values as AVERAGE of quiz1_wk2.
5. Compare the row for Yes vs the row for No.

Now look at the actual numbers.

Quick check.