Find based on complex calculation field stalls

[MagicSpark]

I'm trying to set up a report that will display all of the students whose GPAs dropped by .5 or more from last semester to this semester. When I try to run the report, the program stalls. I'm assuming that this is because the field I am searching in is defined based on many layers of calculations and the values in it aren't stored. My understanding, though, is that I should not store this value becuase if I do, it will not update next semester when new grades are entered into the database. Is this correct?

If I shouldn't keep the values in this field stored, do you have any suggestions as to how to run the report without having it stall?

If I should store the values, do you have recommendations as to how to do this? Currently, most of my calculation fields are based on other unstored calculation fields, and the calculation fields farthest down are pulling data from a related grades table. All of these things seem to make it impossible to store calculations. I tried redefining my fields as number fields with auto-entered data, but then my fields didn't populate properly.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. I can provide more information about the structure of my database if necessary.

Many Thanks.

[-Queue-]

Your unstored calc fields could be stored, if you made them normal text or number fields and scripted updates to them during appropriate times. Doing finds on unstored fields that are based on other unstored calcs based on other unstored calcs, etc. is definitely a way to bring the file to a standstill. It will work, assuming you don't run out of memory first, but it can take quite a while depending on how many records there are and how many calculations are required to determine the final results.