Integer Instrument

This article describes the Integer Instrument that can be found in the Target Interface of the Program Builder.



This article has the following sections:

What is an Integer Instrument? 

An Integer Instrument is used to collect numeric input, such as a quiz score or performance metrics such as "words per minute" in a reading fluency program. During data collection, the user is presented with a box in which to enter a number:

The number is "entered" when the user clicks the check mark or the Done button (or anywhere outside the box). 

The Instrument Score yielded by the Integer Instrument is the number that was entered. 

The Opportunity Score is equal to the score of the Integer Instrument if it's the only measure in the target (as in the example above).  If there are multiple measures, then the Opportunity Score is computed based on the Opportunity Score Calculation method.

The number displayed in the box will be color-coded based on whether or not it contributes to a successful outcome, as determined by the Opportunity Success Criteria. For example, if the success criteria is "succeed if all instrument scores are at least 140" then an Integer value of 144 would be green, while 138 would be red.

 



Graphing Integers: Success Ratio vs. Score 

You might expect that a target with an Integer instrument that is run once per session (such as the Reading Fluency example above) would have a Y-axis showing the value of the Integer that was entered (e.g. words per minute).  However, unless you modify the Session Score Calculation method to something other than "Automatic", the Y-axis will actually show the Success Ratio (# successful trials / # total trials), which would be 0% or 100% if there was only one trial.

For example, if the Session Outcome for the above example is configured as follows:

If the child's words per minute scores were 109, 155, 141, and 133 in four sessions, the chart would appear like this:

Note that the Y-axis is showing 0% or 100% for each session, which is the success ratio.   To graph the instrument scores, you would need to modify the Session Score Calculation to use "Opportunity Score Aggregate", as follows:


This would yield the following graph instead:

Note: if there is only one opportunity per session, then Session Score Calculation that uses "Average", "Sum", "Min" and "Max" are all the same; if however you plan to allow multiple opportunities per session, then you may want to set the value to Average or Max depending on what you want to count as the session score.

If you collected data using the wrong Session Score Calculation method, there is no way to change how previously collected data is charted.  You can fix the Session Score Calculation method to change how new data will be charted.

Integer vs. Count 

The Integer instrument is distinct from the Count Instrument, which also has a number box but includes increment/decrement controls:

The main difference between Integer and Count is in how they are graphed.  As described above, graphs for targets consisting of an Integer instrument will plot either the opportunity success rate or the integer scores.  However, graphs for targets consisting of a Count instrument (e.g. a typical behavior tracking target) will graph the rate per hour rather than the count value itself.