A-Z of Alps

A-Z of Alps

Alps Term​Definition
Account Benchmark SelectorThe Account Benchmark Selector allows you to select default the benchmark for all users in your account. Read our guide
Actual PointsActual points are the points equivalent of the grades achieved in the selected exam Gradepoint or Monitoring Point. Read our guide
Additional DownloadsAdditional Downloads are found within the Reports & Downloads tab in the homepage. This area is used to share recordings of training sessions, exam result certificates and other confidential files. 
Adhoc GroupsThe Adhoc Groups tool can be found in the Students tab within individual subject analysis pages. The tool allows the user to split the subject cohort into custom groups and compare performance. Read our guide
Admin UserThe Admin User permission can be turned on to give the user access to the User Management area and view subscription or contract details. Read our guide
Alps Black An Alps Black (or grey) is the colour given in Strategic and Subject Analysis when the cohort is performing between the 25th and 75th percentile and achieving an Alps Grade 4-6. It is also used in the Student Analysis lozenges to highlight students below target by a grade. Watch our video guide
Alps BlueAn Alps Blue is the colour given in Strategic Analysis and Subject Analysis when the cohort is performing at the 25th percentile and achieving an Alps Grade 7-9. It is also used in Student Analysis to indicate students achieving below their Minimum Expected Grades (MEGs) by more than 1 grade. Watch our video guide
Alps ChampionsThe Alps Champions programme includes resources, blogs and dedicated webinars across the academic year to support users with driving the Alps culture in their school/college. Read our guide
Alps Customer BenchmarkThe Alps Customer Benchmark or Client Benchmark is created from examination outcomes submitted to us by our Alps schools and colleges. This benchmark allows timely analysis of your examination results against current data, before the National Benchmark is released. Read our guide
Alps GradeAn Alps Grade is a number from 1-9 that indicates where your selected Gradepoint sits in the national data. Grades are as follows: 1 - top 1%, 2 - top 10%, 3 - top 25%, 4 - top  40%, 5 - national average, 6 - lower 40%, 7 - lower 25%, 8 - lower 10%, 9 - lower 1%. Watch our video guide
Alps RedAn Alps Red is the colour given in Strategic Analysis and Subject Analysis when the cohort is performing above the 75th percentile and achieving an Alps Grade 1-3. It is also used in Student Analysis to indicate students achieving their Minimum Expected Grades (MEGs) Watch our video guide
Alps ScoreAn Alps Score is the value added score, which is calculated using our VAS formula. This is then shown on thermometers with the equivalent Alps Grade. Watch our video guide
Attainment ProfileThese are the attainment pages showing the percentages of students achieving each grade at a subject level. Cumulative and overall percentages are also shown here. Read our guide
BBPABBPA stands for Banded By Prior Attainment, which is an analysis tool that allows you to view value added performance across the different prior attainment bands. Read our guide
Benchmark A Benchmark is the dataset used to produced our Alps Minimum Expected Grades (MEGs) and calculate value added progress for students and subjects. We currently offer the National Benchmark and the Alps Customer Benchmark (England and Wales). Read our guide
Benchmark SelectorThe Benchmark Selector allows you to select a benchmark for analysis. We offer two benchmarks in Connect and Summit, the National Benchmark and Alps Customer Benchmark (England and Wales). Read our guide
Blue Teaching & LearningThe Blue Teaching & Learning Score is the percentage of entries that are in Blue subjects. Read our guide
CensusOur Census is an annual survey which appears in Connect, to ask for your school/colleges up to date information for our records.
ConnectAlps Connect is our school/college platform for target setting, tracking progress and exam results analysis for KS4 and KS5.
Connect DataConnect Data is the data management area of Alps Connect, where data is uploaded and managed within the platform. Only users with the Data Access user permission will be able to access this area. Access our guides
Custom ColumnsCustom Columns are additional data fields you can create to upload custom student data and use for applying filters to analysis, for example attendance, new to sixth. Read our guide
Customer Benchmark SetThe Customer Benchmark or Client Benchmark is made from data submitted to us by our Alps schools and colleges. Alps benchmarks are released after results season, for timely analysis of exam outcomes against the latest data. Read our guide
Data Contact ToggleThe Data Contact toggle can be found in the active users list in the user management tab. Toggle this on for users who are responsible for uploading data into Alps.
Data Sharing ConsentData Sharing Consent is an account permission that enables the sharing of your school/college's data with your LA or MAT if you are part of a group contract subscription. Read our guide
Deactivated UsersIf a user is deactivated they will lose access to Connect/Summit. Deactivated Users appear in the Manage Users tab and can be reactivated by admin users. Read our guide
Early Access Privilege Early Access Privilege is a user permission that gives a user access to uploading and analysing exam results on the JCQ embargo days. Users without this permission would be able to view analysis on results day. Read our guide
EntriesIn Connect and Summit, Entries refers to the number of exam entries in a subject or cohort.
Expected PointsExpected Points are the points equivalent of the Minimum Expected Grades (MEGs) for the selected cohort of students. Watch our video guide
Fine GradesIn Connect, you can set up Fine Grades that allow suffixes to be added to monitoring grades, in order to view students achieving a secure grade, stretching to improve by a grade or at risk of dropping a grade. Read our guide
Gradepoint A Gradepoint is a defined data point uploaded into Connect, either monitoring data or exam results, that is available for analysis. 
Gradepoint SelectorThe Gradepoint Selector is where you can select you focus Gradepoint, using step 1 in the homepage and choosing Option A, B or C. Read our guide
High/Middle/Low (HML)The HML filter, allows you to filter your analysis by high, middle and low prior attainment bands.
How Do I The How Do I tool tells you how many grade improvements are required for a subject to reach the next Alps band. Simply drag and drop the score box on a subject thermometer. Read our guide
MEG ReportsMEG Reports are Excel and PDF files that include your Alps Minimum Expected Grades, generated from your Prior Attainment scores. You can access these in the Reports & Downloads tab from the homepage. Read our guide
MFAMulti-Factor Authentication adds a layer of protection to your account, either through an authenticator app or one-time passcode. Read our guide
Minimum Expected Grade (MEG)MEGs are Alps target grades, generated from your Prior Attainment baseline. These grades are calculated by qualification type, at the 75th percentile of outcomes in the selected benchmark. Watch our video guide
Monitoring Accuracy Monitoring Accuracy is an analysis zone in Connect, that allows analysis of the accuracy of predicting across subjects. Read our guides
Monitoring DataMonitoring Data is any internal tracking grades such as mock assessments or predicted grades. These can be uploaded into Connect as a Monitoring Point. Read our guide
Monitoring Point A Monitoring Point is a set of monitoring data that has been uploaded into Alps, that can be used for analysis. This does not include external examination results. Read our guide
My ReportsThe My Reports area is where you will find your end of year Provider Report for exam result analysis. This can be found in the Reports & Downloads tab in the homepage. Read our guide
National BenchmarkThe National Benchmark set is made from validated national data, shared with Alps by the Department for Education. 
Performance Measures The Performance Measures zones include DfE Accountability Measures, which include Progress 8 for KS4 and Best 3 A Levels for KS5. Read our guides
Personalised TargetPersonalised Targets are internally generated target grades that can be imported into Connect for tracking alongside the MEGs. These can be subject specific, and higher than the Alps MEGs. Read our guide
Prior Attainment (PA)Prior Attainment is the baseline scores for each student, dependent on key stage and location. Types of PA include average GCSE scores, KS2 Scaled Scores, CAT4 Mean SAS and WNT. Read our guides
Provider Report The Alps Provider Report provides a comprehensive overview of your exam results analysis. These are generated automatically when results are published in Connect and can be accessed in the My Reports area. Read our guide
Quality Indicator (QI) GradeThe Quality Indicator Grade is a score from 1-9 that indicates where the selected Gradepoint cohort sits in comparison to the selected benchmark. A score of 1-3 is top 25%, 4-6 is middle, and 7-9 is lower 25%. Watch our video guide
Quality Indicator (QI) ScoreThe Quality Indicator score is calculated with a formula, which includes taking your Actual Points away from your Expected Points and dividing by the number of entries. Watch our video guide
Quality of Teaching Quality of Teaching is an analysis page found in Strategic Analysis that identifies the number of student entries in each of the Alps Grade bands. Read our guide
Red Teaching & Learning The Red Teaching & Learning Score is the percentage of entries that are in Red subjects. Read our guide
RollRoll is a data field in Student Data, for consortium schools to determine which centres students are enrolled at. Read our guide
SeriesThe Series column is a required field for grade imports and often appears in the Fix Errors screen if not included. Series denotes the exam series, such as Summer 2027.
Session Benchmark ToggleThe Session Benchmark Toggle allows you to temporarily choose a benchmark for analysis. This will not change the benchmark for other users and if you sign out the benchmark will default back to the account's selected benchmark. Read our guide
Split MEGA split MEG is given when a student's prior attainment is between grade boundaries, for example A/B
Strategic Analysis Strategic Analysis offers top level metrics on your selected Gradepoint, giving you an overview of your Alps scores and valued added measures. Read our guides
Student AnalysisStudent Analysis offers student level metrics on your selected Gradepoint, offering student specific analysis and valued added measures. Read our guides
Student Performance GroupsStudent Performance Groups is a filter that can be used in Student Analysis, to easily view students on, above or below the MEGs/PTs across their subjects, Read our guide
Subject Analysis Subject Analysis offers subject level metrics on your selected Gradepoint, giving you an overview of your Alps scores and valued added measures at subject level. Read our guides
Subject Mapping Subject mapping appears as a step in the Teaching Data and Grades import wizards. As MIS systems have different names for subjects, you need to match your subject names with an Alps subject name, so the correct MEG and value added analysis is calculated. Read our guide
SummitAlps Summit is our platform for groups, including MATs and local authorities, allowing data from multiple schools/colleges to be viewed in one account. Read our guides
Taught AtTaught at is a data field that can be imported in your Teaching Data to determine which subjects are taught at an external site if you are a consortium. Read our guide
Teaching SetsTeaching sets is a data field that can be imported in your Teaching Data, to assign a students class/set/group for their subjects. Sets can then be analysed separately in the analysis zones. Read our guide
Thermometer Thermometers are used to in Connect to display your Alps scores and grades. If you are in the red section of the thermometer, your results are red hot and performing in the top 25% nationally. If your in the blue section, you results are performing in the lower 25%. Watch our video guide
TrendA trend is a collection of Gradepoints that can be used to compare grades and performance. Read our guide
T-ScoreThe T-Score is an overall measure that averages your Alps grades for Quality Indicator, Red Teaching and Blue Teaching. Read our guide
Valued Added Score (VAS)The Quality Indicator score is calculated with a formula, which includes taking your Actual Points away from your Expected Points and dividing by the number of entries. You can see the VAS at Strategic, Subject and Student level. Read our guide
What If The What If tool allows you to model how different student outcomes would impact a subject's Alps score/grade. Read our guide


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