What metrics are
A metric is a single measured number that the dashboard works out from the data your monitors and teachers collect. Most metrics are a percentage, but some are a plain count. Each metric carries two extra things alongside the number: a target (the value you are aiming for) and a traffic-light colour that tells you, at a glance, how close the number is to that target.
For example, a metric might read 85% in a green box. The 85% is the measured value, green means it has reached (or passed) the target, and hovering over the number shows the sample size it was worked out from. A value just below the target shows amber.
The three parts of a metric
Section titled “The three parts of a metric”Every metric has:
- A number. Usually a percentage, sometimes a count (for example, a number of messages sent).
- A target. The value you want to reach. The dashboard compares the number against it.
- A colour. Green, amber or red, shaded by how far the number sits from the target. A larger sample size is shown as a deeper, more solid colour, so a confident result looks stronger than one based on only a handful of records.
The sample size behind a number
Section titled “The sample size behind a number”A percentage on its own can mislead, so every metric also records the sample size: how many records the number was worked out from. When you hover over a metric value, a tooltip shows the sample size. Behind each metric the sample size is one of:
- Teachers (for example, teachers in a district)
- Teacher visits
- School visits
- Pupil assessments
- SMS (messages)
So “85% of teachers present in class” might be based on 40 teacher visits, while “70% of pupils passing” might be based on 300 pupil assessments. Always read the number together with its sample size.
Where a metric is defined and used
Section titled “Where a metric is defined and used”A metric is defined once at country level, then attached to one or more projects. On the configuration screen the project list carries the note “Projects listed here will see the metric on their home page”, so only the projects you add will display it.
Once attached, the same metric is shown at every level of the programme:
- Country (across all projects)
- Region and project
- District
- School
and across time, either by term or by a date range you choose. The number is recalculated for whichever level and period you are looking at, but it is the same metric throughout.
Examples of real metrics
Section titled “Examples of real metrics”These all exist in the dashboard:
| Metric | What it measures | Typical sample size |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage of teachers with a visit | Share of teachers who received a monitoring visit | Teachers |
| Percentage of teachers present in class | Share of observed teachers found teaching | Teacher visits |
| Percentage of pupils passing an assessment | Share of pupils reaching a chosen pass score | Pupil assessments |
| Number of SMS sent | Count of messages sent | SMS |
| An answer-based metric | Share of visits where a chosen monitoring question had a chosen answer | Visits or assessments |
The last row is worth noting: you can turn almost any monitoring question into a metric by choosing a question and the answer options that count as a “pass”. This is how programmes track things like “percentage of classrooms with a print-rich environment” straight from the question monitors answer in the field.
There are also ready-made percentages for specific teacher groups: all teachers, Early Years, Primary 1, Primary 2 and Primary 3 teachers with a visit.
Where you view metrics
Section titled “Where you view metrics”You will meet metrics on:
- Country dashboards, where each metric appears as a country-wide value per term; clicking the metric opens its own page with the value per region.
- Project dashboards and the Project Term page, which shows one tab per metric attached to that project.
- District metrics pages, titled for the district and the term, with a printable version.
The number you see in any of these places is produced by the same country-level definition. To change what a metric measures, its target, or which projects show it, you edit it once at country level.