Why Read the Help?

The first report takes a while to understand. After a few, it takes a minute or two.

After working with hundreds of teachers and students, we have seen many people spend time guessing what a report means instead of knowing what to look for. Most of the charts in the report are new to people, and a few of them are easy to misread without some explanation. Reading the help for each section the first time through makes the report much faster to read later.

  • 1st report, about 45 minutes. Read the help for each section as you go. Some details matter for every chart, such as what counts as a snapshot.
  • 2nd report, about 20 minutes. You will still check the help for a few sections, but not all of them.
  • 3rd report, about 10 minutes. Most charts are familiar by now.
  • 4th and 5th reports, a few minutes. You know which sections to look at and what is unusual.

A hand-drawn chart of the time needed to understand one report: about 45 minutes for the 1st report, 20 for the 2nd, 10 for the 3rd, 5 for the 4th, and 2 for the 5th. Notes on the chart read: "First time: read the help for each section", "Charts start to look familiar", and "A quick glance is enough: you know where to look"