Database Frequently Asked Questions

If you have an issue with your database, please send a detailed explanation including any error messages and names of specific students (if applicable) as soon as possible to marilyn.coleman@che.state.nj.us.

Reports

Q: Why is the data I entered not appearing on the reports? Why are there students with data like test scores and grades in the tables, but are not showing up on the reports or are showing up on a missing data report?
A: There could be several reasons:

• Reports and queries only take active students. Make sure the missing student(s) are marked as active on the participation form.
• Some reports only list specific grade levels for the year entered.
• The HSPA report only lists active 11th graders
• The NJ ASK 8 Student only lists active 8th graders
• The PSAT report only lists active 9th, 10th, and 11th grader

If you enter scores 2008 NJ ASK 8 scores for a student who did not have an 8th grade record for 2008 or is now in 9th grade or higher, then try to run the 2008 NJ ASK 8 report, that student will not appear.

• Review the report descriptions to be sure you’re clear on what the report is supposed to show. Although CHE tries to find a balance between required data and program needs, sometimes the reports are tailored to CHE reporting and not necessarily customized.
• If none of the above applies and you believe the student should be included, email a description of your problem with names of specific students to CHE for review.

Q:Why do I still have students in the missing grades report but they do have grades in the table?
A: If students are missing grades for at least one out of the three main subject areas (math, science, and English), they will show up on this report, even if there are grades for the other classes.

Activity Logs

Q:What if more than one parent (or additional family member) attends an event?
A: For the purpose of the APR, we need to know if the student is represented, not necessarily how many people attended for each student. Continue to check the box if at least one parent/guardian attended for the student. If you would like to account for the entire number of attendees at events, etc. you may use the large-scale activities form.

Q:What is someone is on a college visit where they also attend an admissions presentation.
A: Separate the number of hours spent in each activity. Enter the field trip and admission information separately.

Q:Do I need to complete every field on the Activity forms?
A: Yes. The only exception is Additional GEAR UP students.

Q:Can I update the event name, date, location, etc. on the form that lists the students before adding the event to the table?
A: Yes.

Q:After I check the student names and click “Add to Activity Table”, I get an error about key violations. What is this?
A: If students have already been added to the table for the same activity type and date, the error will pop up. The message will tell you how many records it will not add. If you click “Yes,”all other records that are not duplicates will be added.

Q:Why did the database save one fewer student than I checked in the activity log?
A: You must click “Save”prior to clicking “Save to activity table.”See page 45 for more details about saving activity information.

Q: Why do I get this error when I click on the Activity Reports: "Data Type Mismatch in Criteria Expression? "
A: You may have entered text in the a field where there should only be numbers. For example,

Activity length= "2 hours" instead of "2"
Additional students = "20 students" instead of "20"

Go to the activity table in question and perform a find and replace on the column where the text is entered. Change the information so that it contains numbers only.

Other Questions

Q: The data I entered has disappeared. What happened?
A: First, make sure you are only using one copy of the file. Store it in one location and keep older versions in an archive folder. If you use a USB drive, save often as you enter data and properly close the file and shut down the device before ejecting.

If you are storing the file on a server, your institution’s system might be rolling back to an earlier version. If the above solutions don’t work, you may need to contact Microsoft Support and/or your IT department.

Q: I changed the spelling of a student's name. Now the Participation and School Enrolled forms are blank. What happened?
A: Make sure that when you change a record, you click “Save”before clicking “update spelling.”If you did, then the new record should be there.

Close and reopen the form. Everything should appear correctly. With some versions of Access, it isn’t showing in the form but it’s in the table.  You can still enter data and have it be related to the correct student record. If that doesn’t work, go into the participation table and delete the records for that student and add them again.

Sometimes the form needs to refresh itself. There is no “refresh all”option in Access 2003 or before. If you have Access 2007 try the “Refresh All”Button on the “Home”tab before closing and reopening the form.

Q:What if a student takes more than one math or science class in a year?
A: The Fall Final and Spring Final report period choices were added to the database to track grades for block scheduled courses when students complete a course in one half of the year and take another in the second half.

This option can also be used if students take more than one class in the same subject if one or more of the courses is for a full year. Choose Final report period for one class, then either Spring or Fall for the second class. The database will not allow two Final report periods in the same year.

Q:Why do I get the following error when I run a report and I get this error: “An expression in argument 2 has an invalid value.”?
A: This is a problem with macros between Office 2007 and older versions of Access. Contact CHE and we will have you upload your file for updates.

Q: Why does nothing happen when I click on the menu buttons?
A: For Office 2007 users, if you open your file and get the following security warning at the top of the database window, the form buttons might not work:

• On the Message Bar, click Options. The Microsoft Office Security Options dialog box appears.
• Click Enable this content, and then click [OK].

To always allow all content:

• Click the “Office”button at the top left corner of the window.
• Then the "Access Options" button.
• Select “Trust Center”then the “Trust Center Settings”button.
• Select the second option “Never show information about blocked content”

If this doesn’t work, contact CHE. Sometimes reinstalling the menu form corrects the problem.

Q: When I try to run a report I get a message that says "Unreserved Error -1524." What does this mean.
A: There may be corrupt data in one of your tables. Open the participation table and scroll down to see if there is an entry with odd characters (Arabic or Asian language characters for example.) Delete or edit the record and try the report again.

Q: Why is the data that I'm entering is not being saved?
A: Sometimes if there is duplication of the primary key(i.e. the social security number), the record won't save. Sometimes there is no warning. For example the mentor information table, to work around, add a number or change the mentor initials.