Welcome Parents! FCAT Information Session

O Next Generation Sunshine State Standards O Released Test Items O Sample Test Materials O Testing Schedules O Test Item Specifications O Understanding FCAT 2.0 Reports O Frequently Asked Questions O Glossary – Math and Science

Testing Schedule O Florida Writes (4 th grade)  February 28 – March 1 st O Reading and Math (3 rd, 4 th, and 5 th grades)  April 16 th – April 27 th O Science (5 th grade)  April 16 th – April 27th

FCAT 2.0 O The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) is a criterion- referenced test that measures student achievement of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.

Test Item Specifications O FCAT 2.0 Test Item Specifications are the criteria for test item development that are specified by the Department for each subject and grade level. O The Specifications include the specific Next Generation Sunshine State Standards benchmarks, the types of items used, guidelines for the relative balance of topics, item formats and complexity levels, plus general guidelines to minimize non-content influences, such as confusing wording or poor graphics.

Florida Writes O 4 th, 8 th, and 10 th, grades O 4 th Grade – Expository or Narrative prompt O 45 minutes to plan, write and check O Holistic score unscorable (0) – 6 O Two trained scorers O.5 score possible O Passing score is a 4

Holistic Scoring O Holistic scoring is a method by which trained readers evaluate a piece of writing for its overall quality. The holistic scoring used in Florida requires readers to evaluate the work as a whole, while considering four elements: focus, organization, support, and conventions. In this type of scoring, readers are trained not to become overly concerned with any one aspect of writing but to look at a response as a whole.

Focus O Focus refers to how clearly the paper presents and maintains a main idea, theme, or unifying point. Papers representing the higher end of the point scale demonstrate a consistent awareness of the topic and do not contain extraneous information.

Organization O Organization refers to the structure or plan of development (beginning, middle, and end) and whether the points logically relate to one another. O Organization refers to (1) the use of transitional devices to signal the relationship of the supporting ideas to the main idea, theme, or unifying point and (2) the evidence of a connection between sentences. Papers representing the higher end of the point scale use transitions to signal the plan or text structure and end with summary or concluding statements.

Support O Support refers to the quality of the details used to explain, clarify, or define. The quality of support depends on word choice, specificity, depth, credibility, and thoroughness. Papers representing the higher end of the point scale provide fully developed examples and illustrations in which the relationship between the supporting ideas and the topic is clear.

Conventions O Conventions refer to punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and variation in sentence used in the paper. Papers representing the higher end of the scale follow, with few exceptions, the conventions of punctuation, capitalization, and spelling and use a variety of sentence structures to present ideas.

How Can I Help? O Review writing prompts from teacher O Newspaper article dissection O Narrative story mapping O Figurative language and author’s craft O Write

Question Design O Questions are categorized in two ways: item difficultly and cognitive complexity O Item Difficulty – Easy, Average or Challenging Easy – More than 70% of students are likely to answer correctly Average – Between 40% - 70% are likely to respond correctly Challenging – Less than 40% are likely to respond correctly

Cognitive Complexity O Refers to the cognitive demand associated with a test item (What does the student have to do to answer the question?) O Depends on grade level of assessment O Low Complexity – relies heavily on recall and recognition of previously learned concepts and principles O Moderate Complexity – involves more flexible thinking than low-complexity items, require response that goes beyond habitual, involves more than a single step O High Complexity – makes a heavy demand on student thinking, engage in abstract reasoning, planning, analysis, judgment, and creative thought, multi-step solution

Reading Multiple choice 1 minute per question

Cognitive Complexity in Reading

Distribution of Cognitive Complexity in Reading

Math O Multiple choice O Gridded response and fill–in response O 4th and 5 th O Average of 1.5 minutes to complete

Cognitive Complexity in Math

Distribution of Complexity in Math

Science O 5 th Grade O Multiple choice

Text Complexity in Science

Complexity Distribution

Instructional Technology O O Reflex Math O Ticket to Read O Vmath O Think Central