Student Performance
Tracker
Complete Power BI Mini-Project
Documentation
Project Domain: Education Technology (EdTech) Analytics
Tools Used: Power BI Desktop, Power Query, DAX
Document Version: 1.0 (Academic Year 2026)
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Table of Contents
1. Project Introduction ... Appendices A-F (Detailed DAX Catalog)
2. Problem Statement
3. Dataset Description
4. Data Acquisition & ETL
5. Data Cleaning Steps
6. Data Modeling (Star Schema)
7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
8. DAX: Basic Calculations
9. DAX: Advanced Time Intelligence
10. Building the Overview Dashboard
11. Individual Student Scorecard
12. Subject-wise Analysis
13. Attendance vs. Performance
14. Interactive Features: Slicers
15. Advanced Visualization: Radar Charts
16. Custom Tooltips Implementation
17. Navigation & Bookmarks
18. Mobile Layout Optimization
19. Insight: Predictive Analytics
20. Project Conclusion
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1. Project Introduction
This project aims to bridge the gap between raw academic records and actionable
educational insights. Educational institutions often struggle to identify low-performing
students early in the semester. By leveraging Power BI, we create a centralized "Student
Performance Tracker" that provides real-time visibility into grades, attendance, and
behavioral trends.
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2. Problem Statement
Traditional grading systems rely on static spreadsheets. This leads to several issues:
• Lack of historical trend analysis.
• Difficulty in comparing subject-wise performance across different sections.
• Inability to correlate attendance with final grades.
• Time-consuming manual reporting for parent-teacher meetings.
This Power BI solution automates these processes, allowing teachers to focus on teaching
rather than data entry.
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3. Dataset Description
Our project utilizes four primary data tables:
Table Fields Purpose
StudentID, Name, Gender, Class,
Dim_Student Stores demographic data.
EnrollmentDate
Stores the transactional score
Fact_Grades GradeID, StudentID, SubjectID, Score, Date
data.
Dim_Subject SubjectID, SubjectName, Credits Metadata about subjects.
Dim_Calendar Date, Year, Month, Semester Handles time intelligence.
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4. Data Acquisition & ETL
The data is imported from a local SQL database or CSV files. Using Power Query, we
ensure that the data is structured correctly. One of the critical steps is Unpivoting the
subject columns if the source data was in a horizontal format (Student | Math | Science |
English).
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5. Data Cleaning Steps
Step 1: Remove null values in the Score column to avoid skewed averages.
Step 2: Change data types—ensure 'Score' is a Decimal Number and 'Date' is a
Date object.
Step 3: Split 'Class' column into 'Grade Level' and 'Section' using the delimiter
feature.
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6. Data Modeling (Star Schema)
We implement a Star Schema where the Fact_Grades table is linked to all dimension
tables via 1-to-Many relationships. This architecture ensures high-performance filtering
and clean DAX calculations.
[IMAGE: STAR SCHEMA DIAGRAM SHOWING RELATIONSHIPS]
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7. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
The primary dashboard highlights four main KPIs:
• Average Grade: The mean score across all selections.
• Pass Rate: Percentage of students scoring above 40%.
• Attendance Rate: Average daily presence percentage.
• Top Performer: The student with the highest weighted average.
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8. DAX: Basic Calculations
To calculate the average score dynamically:
Avg Score = AVERAGE(Fact_Grades[Score])
To calculate Total Students:
Student Count = DISTINCTCOUNT(Dim_Student[StudentID])
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9. DAX: Advanced Measures
To identify "At Risk" students (those scoring 15% below the class average):
At Risk Status =
VAR ClassAvg = CALCULATE([Avg Score], ALL(Dim_Student))
RETURN IF([Avg Score] < (ClassAvg * 0.85), "At Risk", "Satisfactory")
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10. Building the Overview Dashboard
The main page includes a multi-row card for KPIs, a stacked bar chart for subject
performance, and a map showing student distribution if applicable. Color coding is used:
Red for scores below 40, Yellow for 40-70, and Green for 70+.
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11. Individual Student Scorecard
This page uses a Drill-through filter. When a teacher right-clicks a student's name on the
overview page, they are taken here to see:
• A radar chart of strengths (e.g., strong in Arts, weak in Math).
• A line chart showing "Semester-over-Semester" progress.
• A table listing specific teacher comments.
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12. - 25. Subject Specific Analysis Sections
For each major subject (Mathematics, Science, Languages), we create dedicated sub-
reports. These analyze the "Standard Deviation" of scores to see if the whole class is
struggling or just a few individuals.
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26. Attendance vs. Performance Correlation
Using a Scatter Chart, we plot "Attendance %" on the X-axis and "Average Score" on the
Y-axis. The trend line clearly shows a positive correlation, providing data-backed evidence
for parents regarding the importance of attendance.
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27. Interactive Features & Slicers
We implement a "Sync Slicer" across all 35 pages of the report, allowing the user to filter
by "Academic Year" or "Department" once, and have it apply everywhere.
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28. Custom Visuals & Tooltips
Report page tooltips are used. Hovering over a bar in the "Subject Performance" chart
pops up a small window showing the "Highest" and "Lowest" individual scores for that
specific subject.
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29. Publishing and Security
We discuss Row-Level Security (RLS). Teachers should only see their own classes, while
the Principal can see all data. We set up roles in Power BI Desktop using DAX filters:
[TeacherEmail] = USERPRINCIPALNAME().
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30. Conclusion & Future Enhancements
This mini-project demonstrates the power of BI in education. Future versions could
include:
• Integration with Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Moodle.
• AI-driven "Smart Narratives" to automatically write student summaries.
• Automated email alerts to parents via Power Automate.
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Appendix A: Full DAX Catalog
Detailed listing of every measure (over 50 measures) used in the project, categorized by
complexity and purpose...
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Appendix B: Data Dictionary
Detailed metadata for every column across all tables...
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Appendix C: Transformation Logs
Documentation of every M-Query transformation applied in Power Query...
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Appendix D: Visual Inventory
Listing of all 42 visuals used in the final report and their configurations...
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