Merge pull request #183 from edx/ahodges/doc/DOC1118

Ahodges/doc/doc1118 Demographic data

docs/en_us/dashboard/source/Reference.rst

@@ -142,6 +142,76 @@ For information about viewing student demographic data in edX Insights, see
   enrolled students who provided a year of birth. Students who did not provide
   a year of birth at registration are not included.
 
+**Educational Background chart**
+
+* Students can select a highest level of education completed. 
+
+* Each bar in the histogram represents the percentage of enrolled users
+  (y-axis) who selected a completion level (x-axis).
+
+* Percentages are calculated for the total number of students who reported an
+  educational level, not from the total number of students enrolled in the
+  course.
+
+*  The table that follows shows each edX Insights label, the option that
+   students can select at registration, and a brief description.
+
+  .. list-table::
+     :widths: 10 20 70
+     :header-rows: 1
+
+     * - edX Insights Label
+       - Student Response
+       - Description
+     * - None
+       - None
+       - No formal education.
+     * - Primary
+       - Elementary/primary school
+       - Initial schooling lasting approximately six years.
+     * - Middle
+       - Junior secondary/junior high/middle school
+       - Continuing basic education lasting two to three years.
+     * - Secondary
+       - Secondary/high school
+       - More specialized preparation for continuing education or employment
+         lasting three to four years.
+     * - Associate
+       - Associate's degree
+       - Completion of two years of post-secondary education.
+     * - Bachelor's
+       - Bachelor's degree
+       - Completion of four years of post-secondary education.
+     * - Master's
+       - Master's or professional degree
+       - Certification for advanced academic or occupationally specific
+         education.
+     * - Doctorate
+       - Doctorate
+       - Advanced qualification for original research.
+
+**Educational Background band metrics**
+
+* Student educational backgrounds are grouped into three bands, as follows.
+
+  .. list-table::
+     :widths: 10 70
+     :header-rows: 1
+
+     * - Band
+       - Student Response
+     * - High school diploma or less
+       - None, Elementary/primary school, Junior secondary/junior high/middle
+         school, Secondary/high school
+     * - College Degree
+       - Associate's degree, Bachelor's degree
+     * - Advanced Degree
+       - Master's or professional degree, Doctorate
+
+* The percentage of students in each band is computed from the number of
+  enrolled students who provided an educational level completed. Students who
+  did not provide this information at registration are not included.
+
 **Gender chart and report**
 
 * Students can select a gender. The chart depicts the percentage of students

docs/en_us/dashboard/source/change_log.rst

@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ September, 2014
 
    * - Date
      - Change
+   * - 11/05/14
+     - Added :ref:`Enrollment_Demographics`.
    * - 09/30/14
      - Initial release.
 

docs/en_us/dashboard/source/enrollment/Demographics_Age.rst

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ How old are my students? Awareness of the ages reported by your students can
 help you understand whether a target audience is enrolled in your course.
 
 Student demographic data is updated every day to include changes in enrollment
-through the end of the previous day (23:59 UTC).
+through 23:59 UTC the previous day.
 
 ********************************************
 Gaining Insight into Student Age
@@ -25,25 +25,38 @@ Self-Reported Student Age Chart
 ======================================
 
 Each bar on this chart represents the total number of enrolled learners who are
-a given age, based on reported year of birth. Moving your cursor over the chart
-shows a tool tip with the %%% for each day.
+a given age, based on reported year of birth. Moving your cursor over a bar in
+the chart shows a tip with the number of students of that age.
 
 The chart includes every reported age. This data is also available for review
 in tabular format and can be downloaded.
 
-.. A couple of examples of this chart follow for different courses. The first example shows the age distribution for an Advanced Placement (AP) course. 
+A couple of examples of this chart follow for different courses. The first
+example shows the age distribution for an Advanced Placement (AP) course.
 
-.. .. image:: ../images/age_chart_AP.png
-.. :alt: 
+.. image:: ../images/age_chart_AP.png
+   :alt: An age histogram with the longest bars for students aged 17, 16, 15, 
+         and 18
 
-.. AP courses are designed to be taken by students of high school age. The chart reveals a wider distribution of reported ages, but confirms that most students are teenagers.
+.. RiceX/AdvBIOx/2014T3/enrollment/demographics/age/
 
-.. The second example shows the Self-Reported Student Age chart for a MOOC.
+AP courses typically are designed to be taken by students of high school age.
+The chart confirms that most students are teenagers and young adults, but
+reveals that the enrollment also includes students who reported other ages.
 
-.. .. image:: ../images/age_chart_MOOC.png
-.. :alt: 
+The second example shows the Self-Reported Student Age chart for a MOOC.
 
-.. This chart shows a wider age distribution, including reports of age 0 and 100+. To gain a more accurate understanding of the ages of the students in the course, the course team might add a survey to the first week of the course.
+.. image:: ../images/age_chart_MOOC.png
+   :alt: An age histogram with the longest bar for students aged 24, and 
+         fairly comparable numbers of students for ages 38 through68 
+
+.. ColumbiaX/HIST1.1x/3T2014/enrollment/demographics/age/
+
+This chart shows a more evenly distributed range of adult ages. 
+
+In both charts, note that students report ages of 0 and 100+. To gain a more
+accurate understanding of the ages of the students in any course, its course
+team might add a survey.
 
 See the :ref:`Reference` chapter for a detailed description of how edX computes
 student age values.
@@ -67,7 +80,7 @@ each band is shown.
 Age Breakdown Report 
 ======================================
 
-The number of students reporting each age, through the date of the last update,
+The number of students reporting each age, as of the date of the last update,
 is available for review or download. The report includes a row for each age,
 with columns for **Number of Students** and **Percentage**. The report also
 includes a row for enrolled students who did not supply this data.
@@ -92,12 +105,15 @@ Learning for the Fun of It
 ===========================
 
 For the professor of a computer science MOOC, students in the 41+ age band were
-a target audience from the inception of the course. This professor used this
-age band to represent the group of people who take online courses for the
-pleasure of learning something new, rather than to pass exams or gain
-credentials. The professor designed the course as self-paced, believing it made
-more sense for those students than a schedule of regular deadlines.
-
-To find out whether they had successfully attracted the audience that they
-wanted to, the course team checked the age distribution of the students who
+a target audience from the inception of the course. This professor used the 41+
+age band to represent people who take online courses for the pleasure of
+learning something new, rather than to pass exams or gain credentials. The
+professor designed the course to be self-paced, a structure that he believed
+made more sense for those students than a schedule of regular deadlines.
+
+To find out whether the course had successfully attracted the expected
+audience, the professor checked the age distribution of the students who
 enrolled in the course.
+
+In edX Insights, the chart, age band metrics, and breakdown report provide
+different ways to learn about the students who are enrolled in a course.

docs/en_us/dashboard/source/enrollment/Demographics_Education.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+.. _Demographics_Education:
+
+###################################
+Enrollment Demographics: Education
+###################################
+
+What educational background do my students have? Evaluating the stages of
+formal education that your students have completed can help you understand
+whether your course is enrolling people with the learning background that you
+expect.
+
+Student demographic data is updated every day to include changes in enrollment
+through 23:59 UTC the previous day.
+
+********************************************
+Gaining Insight into Student Education
+********************************************
+
+Students can select a "highest level of education completed" when they register
+for an account on edx.org or edge.edx.org. Education data for the students
+enrolled in your course is provided in a chart, a set of metrics, and a report
+that you can view or download. Descriptions follow; for detailed information
+about computations, see :ref:`Reference`.
+
+======================================
+Self-Reported Student Education Chart
+======================================
+
+The bars on this chart represent the percentage of enrolled learners who
+reported completion of a level of education. Moving your cursor over
+the chart shows the percentage for each level, calculated to one decimal place.
+
+Student education data is also available for review in tabular format and can
+be downloaded.
+
+Examples of this chart for two different courses follow. 
+
+.. image:: ../images/education_chart_diverse.png
+   :alt: An education histogram with comparable numbers for secondary school 
+         diplomates, Bachelor's degree recipients, and then Master's degree 
+         recipients
+
+.. RiceX/AdvBIOx/2014T3/enrollment/demographics/age/
+
+.. image:: ../images/education_chart_highered.png
+   :alt: An education histogram with the longest bar for Master's degree 
+         recipients, then Bachelor's degree recipients
+
+.. ColumbiaX/HIST1.1x/3T2014/enrollment/demographics/education/
+
+Depending on the goals of the course team, these distributions can be
+interpreted as indicators of the success of enrollment efforts, or indicate
+that changes may be needed to reach the target demographic.
+
+* One team wants to involve students with a wide range of educational
+  backgrounds. The distribution in the first chart can be interpreted as
+  confirmation of enrollment by a diverse population. The distribution in the
+  second chart indicates that the team could look into ways to broaden the
+  appeal of the course.
+
+* Another team has designed an advanced course. The distribution in the first
+  chart alerts the team that people who might need additional resources to
+  succeed are enrolling. The team could review how course prerequisites are
+  stated, or whether marketing efforts are reaching the correct audience. The
+  distribution in the second chart indicates that students who are ready to
+  take on advanced work are enrolling.
+
+See the :ref:`Reference` chapter for a detailed description of the educational
+background categories.
+
+======================================
+Education Band Metrics
+======================================
+
+Three groups, or bands, are provided to give you another perspective on the
+distribution of educational levels among your students. The percentage of
+students in each band is shown.
+
+======================================
+Education Breakdown Report 
+======================================
+
+The number of students reporting completion of each educational level, through
+the date of the last update, is available for review or download. The report
+includes a row for each educational level and a column for the **Number of
+Students**. The report also includes a row labeled **Unknown** for enrolled
+students who did not supply educational data.
+
+To download the Education Breakdown report in a comma-separated value file,
+click **Download CSV**. The CSV file contains the following columns: 
+
+* count
+* course_id
+* created (the date and time of the computation)
+* date
+* education_level
+
+.. info on why you might want to download, what to do with csv after
+
+.. secret column in CSV for number who did not provide?
+
+***********************************************************************
+Analytics in Action: Interpreting Distribution of Educational Levels
+***********************************************************************
+
+===================
+Not Enough Calculus
+===================
+
+As one professor of computer science prepared to launch a new MOOC, he checked
+the responses that students were giving for level of education completed. On
+campus, the course was targeted to first-year college students, and the About
+page of the MOOC described it as college level. The professor expected that
+most students would be high school graduates at least, and the responses did
+show that a majority of the enrollees had completed high school or above. Even
+so, a significant percentage of the enrollees had only finished middle or
+primary school, and the professor was concerned. How could those students know
+enough calculus?
+
+The professor realized that what he really wanted to know was the level of
+student preparedness in that specific subject, calculus. The information on
+student educational background for this course run, while thought-provoking,
+was too general to use as the basis for any last-minute decisions about the
+marketing or design of the course. Just in case, the professor did compile a
+list of resources for a course update.
+
+For a future course run, this professor could add an assessment early in the
+first week to test for the expected knowledge. To find the number of students
+who select each answer for a problem, including both incorrect and correct
+answers, you can download the `Student Answer Distribution`_ report.
+
+.. _Student Answer Distribution: http://edx.readthedocs.org/projects/edx-partner-course-staff/en/latest/running_course/course_answers.html#student-answer-distribution

docs/en_us/dashboard/source/enrollment/Demographics_Gender.rst

@@ -34,14 +34,22 @@ place.
 Student gender data is also available for review in tabular format and can be
 downloaded.
 
-.. An example of this chart follows. 
+Examples of this chart for two different courses follow. 
 
-.. .. image:: ../images/gender_chart.png
-..  :alt: 
+.. image:: ../images/gender_chart_even.png
+   :alt: A bar chart showing 46% female and 53% male
 
-.. The chart reveals %%. The team for this course might %%.
+.. RiceX/AdvBIOx/2014T3/enrollment/demographics/gender/
 
-.. any suggestions for an interesting-looking chart, and how it moght be interpreted as shopwing the success or failure of a marketing effort, would be much appreciated.
+.. image:: ../images/gender_chart_disparate.png
+   :alt: A bar chart showing 16% female and 82% male
+
+.. MITx/8.MReVx/2T2014/enrollment/demographics/gender/
+
+These charts are both for science courses. In both courses, the median
+student age is 25. Each of these course teams might use this information as a
+starting point for an investigation into how students learn about their course
+offering and make the decision to enroll in the course.
 
 See the :ref:`Reference` for a detailed description of how student gender
 values are computed.
@@ -76,18 +84,21 @@ Analytics in Action: Interpreting Gender Distribution
 Researching an Unanticipated Disparity
 ===============================================
 
-Not long before launch, the team for a programming MOOC checked the
-demographics for the students who had enrolled. They were completely surprised
-by the extent of the gender imbalance, which was far more acute than they had
-ever seen in their on-campus version of the class.
+Not long before launch, the team for a math MOOC checked the demographics for
+the students who had enrolled. They were surprised to observe a gender
+imbalance that was far more acute than they had ever seen in their on-campus
+version of the class.
 
 The team looked into possible contributing factors, and realized that the
 audiences of the journal articles and blog posts that had been written about
 the course skewed heavily male. They also reread the course About page to see
 if it represented the course differently than they had intended.
 
 Even more important to the team than finding potential causes was to make an
-effort to enroll more women in the course. To do so, they reached out to
-professional women’s organizations for guidance on ways to market the course to
-their members. (With edX Insights, the team could monitor the success of this
-effort by checking the enrollment trend for women in the CSV file.)
+effort to enroll more women in the course. To do so, the team subsequently
+partnered with professional women’s organizations for guidance on ways to
+market the course to their members. 
+
+Today, teams can use edX Insights to monitor the success of such outreach
+efforts by checking the Gender Breakdown Over Time report and CSV file for
+enrollment trends.