Sonar Tracker: Primary Cohort Formative Analysis Report

Sonar Tracker

Overview

This article explains the Primary Cohort Formative Analysis report, including its purpose, how to open it, the information it displays and how to customise it.

Purpose

The Primary Cohort Formative Analysis report shows how a whole cohort (either a Class or Year Group) is achieving against the various Primary objectives. allowing you to spot patterns quickly. Using the report, you can:

Find gaps in learning, so you know which objectives may benefit from being taught again to one or more pupils.
Find gaps in teaching, so you know which objectives you haven't taught yet.
See which pupils are on track and which pupils need extra support.
Group pupils for targeted teaching, for example, pupils who are still flagged as Taught for an objective.
Plan appropriate next steps for your class.

The report shows the most recent assessment recorded for each pupil. It includes only pupils who have an assessment. Pupils working outside their year group appear in the band they were assessed against.

By default, the report opens with Assessment Approach set to All Objectives, so percentages are based on every objective, whether you have assessed it or not. To base percentages only on objectives you have assessed, select Assessed to Date in View Options.

You can print the report or download it as a .pdf file using Print / PDF. This makes it easy to share assessment information in meetings.

Opening the page

Follow these steps to open the Primary Cohort Formative Analysis report in Sonar Tracker:

Select Reports.
Find Primary Cohort Formative Analysis in the list of reports. You can use Search Reports to find it.
Select Primary Cohort Formative Analysis.
In the Select Pupils dialog box, select a single cohort:
1. Either select a Year Group.
2. Or select a Class list. If you don't select a class, the report will include all pupils in the Year Group.
3. Select Load Report.

Pupil view

The report opens in the Pupil view:

Each row shows one pupil.
Each band and subject you select appears in its own section. Multiple bands can be viewed at the same time in the report. The section heading shows the band and subject, for example, Band 6 · Reading. Select the heading to collapse or expand the section.
Strands appear as collapsed columns. Each strand displays its name, its percentage, and the number of objectives. For example, 14 objectives, click > to expand to objective level is displayed for Comprehension. Select the > above the Strand name to expand it and see each objective:
Each coloured box shows the most recent assessment for a pupil on an objective. Optionally, using the View Options, you can select to view the associated assessment point (Show assessment term on cells), for example, Autumn 1:

Group view

The report's other view is the Group view, which shows groups of pupils instead of individual pupils:

Select View Options, then select Group to switch to the Group view.
Select a tab above the report to choose how the pupils are grouped. Each tab only shows the groups that have data:
- Characteristics shows groups, for example, Boys, Girls, Disadvantaged, Not Disadvantaged, Pupil Premium, Not Pupil Premium, FSM, SEN, SEN Support, Not EAL, Summerborn, and Not Leaver.
- Ethnicity shows a row for each ethnicity group, for example, White - British.
- Attendance shows groups based on attendance, for example, Attendance Below 90% and Attendance Below 96%.
Each tab starts with an All Pupils row. Each row shows a group and the number of pupils in the group. The percentages show the results for each group.
Strands appear as collapsed columns. Each strand displays its name, its percentage, and the number of objectives. For example, 14 objectives, click > to expand to objective level is displayed for Comprehension. Select the > above the Strand name to expand it and see each objective:
To return to the pupil view, select View Options, then select Pupil.

Elements

The calculations in this table use the default All Objectives setting. If you select Assessed to Date in View Options, the report counts only objectives that have been assessed.

Controls

Control	Description
Filters	Select to filter the pupils in the report. You can filter by Pupil Groups, Class Groups, Groups, Ethnicity, Gender, First Language, Birth Term, Birth Month, School Entry period, Attendance and pupil Characteristics. To find out more, go to Sonar Tracker: How do I filter pupils?
Assessment point list	Select the assessment point to use, for example, 2026-2027 Autumn 1. The list groups assessment points by academic year.
Band list	Select one or more bands, for example, Band 6. Each band you select appears in its own section. If a band has no assessments, the report displays the following message: No assessments recorded for x at this assessment point, where x is the Band.
Subject list	Select one or more subjects. The subjects are Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology, Geography, History, Languages, Mathematics, Music, PE, Reading, Science, Spoken Language, and Writing. Each subject appears in its own section.
Context groups	These are shown as part of the Group. Select one or more groups to include in the report view. When selected the groups are shown within either the Characteristics, Ethnicity or Attendance tab. The control updates to show the number of groups selected.
Column headings	Each strand and objective heading has two controls. Select the arrow to sort the pupils by that column. Select the x to remove the column from the report.
View Options	Select to open the view options menu (see details below in View options).
Export	Select to open the Export Report dialog box. Follow these steps to export the report: In Export as, select Print / PDF, Excel, or Word. Check or uncheck the options to choose what the export includes, for example, the strands. Select the export button at the bottom of the dialog box: Export - Print / PDF, Export to Excel, or Export to Word. Your device saves the file to its downloads folder. Depending on your device settings, the file may also open automatically. To print a file, open it in the appropriate application and print from there. Only what you see on screen is included in the export. Select your subjects, filters, and view before you export.

View options

Select View Options to change what the report displays. The options are:

Option	Description
View	Select Pupil to show one row for each pupil. Select Group to show one row for each group of pupils.
Assessment Approach	Select how the report treats objectives that you haven't assessed yet: All Objectives - The report includes every objective, and percentages are based on all of them. This is the default. Assessed to Date - The report includes only objectives that have been assessed, and percentages are based on those objectives only. Select All Objectives to find gaps in teaching. Select Assessed to Date to see how pupils are doing on what you have taught so far.
Strands Shown	Check or uncheck a strand to show or hide it. The strands available for selection differ based on the Subject selected. Hide strands you haven't taught yet to keep the report focused.
Assessment Focus	Check or uncheck to view Not Taught, Taught, Working Towards, Achieved, and Greater Depth. The report recalculates the percentages to match the colours you check. If you check Taught, Working Towards, Achieved, and Greater Depth, only pupils with those assessments are displayed and are included in the percentages. In this scenario, Not Taught objectives will not be displayed or included in percentages.
Show assessment term on cells	Check to display the assessment point under each coloured box, for example, Autumn 1. Uncheck to hide it.
Show report description	Check to display the report description. Uncheck to hide it.

Tips and best practices

To determine which pupils may benefit from an objective being taught again, select the arrow on the objective column. Pupils at Taught appear at the top of the list.
To focus on pupils who need support, look for the red (Taught) and yellow (Working Towards) boxes in the Pupil view.
To base percentages only on objectives you have assessed, select Assessed to Date in View Options. To include every objective, select All Objectives.
To fit the report on to fewer pages, remove the columns you don't need before you select Print / PDF. In your browser print settings, you can also change the scale.

Related information

Updated 23 October 2026 12:22

Field name	Description
Pupils	The number of pupils the report includes, for example, 62 Pupils.
Pupils With No Assessment	The number of pupils who have no assessment data.
Summary line	Displays the selections used to create the report. It shows Assessment Point, Year, Leavers, Subjects, Band and any filters that have been applied.
Report description	Text that explains how the report works. You can show or hide it by checking or unchecking Show report description in View Options.
Legend	Explains the most recent assessment for a pupil (when objectives are shown) in the Pupil view: Not Taught (Grey) - The objective hasn't been taught yet, so no assessment is recorded for the pupil. Taught (Red) - The objective has been taught, and the pupil hasn't yet reached Working Towards. Working Towards (Yellow) - The pupil is working towards the objective. Achieved (Green) - The pupil has achieved the objective. Greater Depth (Purple) - The pupil has achieved the objective at a greater depth.
Pupil	The name of each pupil. Select the arrow next to Pupil to sort the list in ascending or descending order:
Group	The name of each group, followed by the number of pupils in the group in brackets.
Overall percentage of pupils who have Achieved or are at Greater Depth (for Band)	The overall percentage of pupils who have Achieved or are at Greater Depth for the Band is shown to the right of the section heading (Band heading): With All Objectives selected, which is the default, the total percentage includes every pupil in the cohort and every objective in the band and subject. Objectives you haven't assessed yet count towards the total. To base the total percentage only on objectives you have assessed, select Assessed to Date in View Options.
Percentage of pupils who have Achieved or are at Greater Depth (for a Strand) This is displayed in both the Pupil view and Group view	Each strand displays a total number of objectives within the strand and a percentage of pupils who have Achieved or are at Greater Depth for that Strand. This is calculated as follows: Total = (Number of pupils at Achieved or Greater Depth for strand ÷ Total number of pupils) x 100 For example, where 29 pupils out of 61 pupils are assessed at Achieved or Greater Depth for all objectives within the strand Comprehension, the total is (29 ÷ 61) x 100 = 45.8%.
Percentage of objectives a pupil has achieved or are at Greater Depth (for all Strands) when in Pupil view	The percentage of objectives a pupil has achieved across all the strands in the section. An objective counts as achieved when it is at Achieved or Greater Depth: This is calculated as follows: Total = (Number of objectives at Achieved or Greater Depth ÷ Total number of objectives) x 100 For example, a pupil who has achieved 11 of 18 objectives has a total of (11 ÷ 18) x 100 = 61.1%.
Percentage of pupils who have achieved or are at Greater Depth (for Objective) when in Pupil view	Each objective column displays the objective and a percentage. The percentage shows how many pupils in the report are at Achieved or Greater Depth for that objective. This is calculated as follows: Total = (Number of pupils at Achieved or Greater Depth for the objective ÷ Total number of pupils) x 100 For example, where 25 pupils out of 36 pupils are at Achieved or Greater Depth for that objective, the total is (25 ÷ 36) x 100 = 75.8%
Pupil's most recent assessment performance in the Pupil view	The most recent assessment for a pupil (when objectives are shown) in the Pupil view: For example, for the objective Read books that are structured in different ways, for their latest assessment (in Autumn 1) the pupil achieved their objective (as it was green). The colours mean the following: Red (Taught) - The objective has been taught, and the pupil hasn't yet reached Working Towards. Yellow (Working Towards) - The pupil is working towards the objective. Green (Achieved) - The pupil has achieved the objective. Purple (Greater Depth) - The pupil has achieved the objective at a greater depth. Grey (Not Taught) - The objective hasn't been taught yet, so no assessment is recorded for the pupil.
Percentage of objectives a pupil has achieved or are at Greater Depth (for Strand) when in Pupil view	The percentage of objectives a pupil has achieved across all the strands in the section. An objective counts as achieved when it is at Achieved or Greater Depth: This is calculated as follows: Total = (Number of objectives at Achieved or Greater Depth ÷ Total number of objectives) x 100 For example, a pupil who has achieved 10 of 17 objectives has a total of (10 ÷ 17) x 100 = 58.8%.
Percentage of pupils within the group who have achieved or are at Greater Depth (for all shown Strands) when in Group view	The percentage of pupils within the group who have been assessed at Achieved or Greater Depth for all strands shown: This is calculated as follows: Total = (Number of pupils assessed at Achieved or Greater Depth in the group across all strands ÷ Total number of pupils in the group) x 100
Percentage of pupils within the group who have achieved or are at Greater Depth (for a Strand) when in Group view	The percentage of pupils in the group who have been assessed at Achieved or Greater Depth for a strand: This is calculated as follows: Total = (Number of pupils assessed at Achieved or Greater Depth in the group for the strand ÷ Total number of pupils in the group) x 100
Percentage of pupils within the group who have achieved or are at Greater Depth (for and Objective) when in Group view	The percentage of pupils from the group who have achieved the objective (assessed as Achieved or Greater Depth): This is calculated as follows: Total = (Number of pupils assessed at Achieved or Greater Depth in the group for the objective ÷ Total number of pupils in the group) x 100 For example, where 25 of 33 pupils within the group achieve the objective within the strand, the total is (25 ÷ 33) x 100 = 75.8%.