Combining grades, attendance and class lists: a guide for schools
By the Analistable team · Updated · 2 min read
School spreadsheets are split by class, term and system: grade books, attendance exports, enrolment lists and form responses. The student ID is the key that joins them. Analistable answers questions across those files in the browser, so pupil rows are not stored on a third-party server.
The multi-sheet jobs teachers and schools actually do
- Grades and attendance: join the grade book to attendance to see whether absence is linked to lower marks.
- Class roll-ups: combine grade sheets from several classes or teachers into one year-group view.
- Enrolment lists: combine course enrolment lists and spot students missing from a class.
- Form responses vs roster: match Google Forms responses to the class list to see who has not replied.
- Staff training: match the staff list to training records to check who still needs a course.
| File | Typical source | Join key |
|---|---|---|
| Grade book | One sheet per class | Student ID |
| Attendance export | School information system | Student ID |
| Enrolment list | Admissions or timetable | Student ID + course |
| Form responses | Google Forms | Email → student ID |
| Staff training log | HR sheet | Staff ID |
Match on student ID rather than name wherever you can. Names are spelled differently, change, and repeat across year groups. If one system pads IDs with leading zeros and another does not, fix that before joining or the matches will silently fail.
How Analistable helps
Connect the Google Sheets or upload the exports and ask "which students in Year 9 have attendance under 90% and an average grade below C?". The data is processed in your browser and is not stored on Analistable servers; only column names, and samples if you allow them, go to the AI. Check your school's data protection policy before loading pupil data into any tool.
Start here
Frequently asked questions
- Can I use this with Google Workspace for Education?
- You can connect Google Sheets with your Google account, subject to what your school's admin allows for third-party apps.
- Does it change the grade book?
- No. Analistable only reads data and runs read-only queries; it never writes back to your sheets.
- Do I need to know formulas?
- No. You ask in plain English. The template and guides above show the formula approach if you prefer to stay in a spreadsheet.