2010 11 Greater TampaSt Petersburg Education Guide 2010 11 Greater TampaSt Petersburg Education Guide : Page 93

2010-11 Greater Tampa / St. Petersburg Education Guide RESOURCES Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test The Florida Comprehensive Assess-ment Test (FCAT) was instituted to in-crease student achievement by implementing higher standards. The test is administered to students in grades 3-11 and contains two basic components: criterion-referenced tests measuring benchmarks from the Sunshine State Standards, and norm-referenced tests that measure individual student perfor-mance against national norms. One of the requirements to graduate is to pass the Grade 10 FCAT’s reading and math portions. Beginning in 2010, Florida will make passage of the Grade 10 FCAT writing test a graduation re-quirement, as well. The FCAT includes assessments in the following areas: • Writing for students in grades 4, 8, and 10 • Reading and mathematics for stu-dents in grades 3 through 10 • Science for students in grades 5, 8, and 11 The total score ranges from 100 to 500. Each sub-score represents the per-centage of content in that area to which students responded correctly. Students may retake the FCAT as many times as they want until they pass it, and can enroll for a free 13th year of school if they need additional instruction to pass the FCAT. Students have up to six opportunities to pass the Grade 10 FCAT prior to graduation. There are options for students strug-gling to pass the FCAT. A senior can grad-uate by receiving a score on the ACT or SAT that is comparable to the FCAT pass-ing score. A student must take the Grade 10 FCAT three times without passing be-fore using scores from the ACT or SAT. That requirement does not apply to stu-dents who are new to the public school system in grade 12. Also, seniors with a Certificate of Completion may enroll in community college by taking the College Placement Test to determine if they qual-ify to register for credit or must take re-medial courses. Students have a third op-tion -enroll in a GED preparation course. Each school district has its own policies and rules regarding this option. What Test Scores Mean How School Grades Are Determined A B C D F P FCAT Science Introduced as part of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test pro-gram in the 2003 school year, the FCAT Science test is given to students in grades 5, 8 and 11 and asks questions pertaining to four main areas of sci-ence. The FCAT Science tests cover the subject areas of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, Life and Environmental Sciences and Sci-entific Thinking. During the test, stu-dents are required to perform tasks requiring them to read all parts of the question carefully, plan how to answer the question, explain the scientific process used to determine the answer, and provide the answer to the ques-tion in their own words. • 410 points or more • Meet adequate progress of lowest students in reading • Test at least 95% of eligible students • 380 points or more • Meet adequate progress of lowest students in reading within two years • Test at least 90% of eligible students • 320 points or more • Meet adequate progress of lowest students in reading within two years • Test at least 90% of eligible students • 280 points or more • Test at least 90% of eligible students Florida Writing Assessment Test The Florida Writing Assessment was implemented in grades 4, 8, and 10 as required by a law passed by the 1990 legislature. The assessment measures students’ proficiency in writing responses to topics they are assigned within a designated testing period. The assessment of writing pro-ficiency, by its nature, incorporates the assessment of higher order skills, since students are required to generate and develop the ideas that form the basis for their written responses. The Student Assessment Services Section of the Department of Education, which administers FLORIDA WRITES!, is also responsible for reporting information about stu-dent writing proficiency to students, parents, educators, legislators, and cit-izens. Students and their parents or guardians receive individual student reports, and teachers and administra-tors receive school and district reports. • Fewer than 280 points or • Less than 90% of eligible students tested • Points-only — alternative schools had the option to earn a points only grade rather than a traditional school grade • The points-only calculation is the same as the traditional school grade calculation; however, no “A” – “F” grade is assigned SOURCE: Florida Dept. of Education Schools that serve high school grade levels will receive a grade based on a weighting of FCAT-based components and non-FCAT-based components proportional to the number and level of non-high-school grades taught at the school at tested grade levels. The word “Pending” will appear as their school grade until the non-FCAT-based components are available near the end of 2010. Please see the 2009-2010 School Grades Technical Assis-tance Paper http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0910/-2010School-GradesTAP .pdf or page 2 of the guide sheet at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0910/Guidesheet2010SchoolGrades.pdf for additional information. www.americaseducationguide.com 93

What Test Scores Mean

Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) was instituted to increase student achievement by implementing higher standards. The test is administered to students in grades 3- 11 and contains two basic components: criterion-referenced tests measuring benchmarks from the Sunshine State Standards, and norm-referenced tests that measure individual student performance against national norms. One of the requirements to graduate is to pass the Grade 10 FCAT’s reading and math portions. Beginning in 2010, Florida will make passage of the Grade 10 FCAT writing test a graduation requirement, as well. The FCAT includes assessments in the following areas: • Writing for students in grades 4, 8, and 10 • Reading and mathematics for students in grades 3 through 10 • Science for students in grades 5, 8, and 11 The total score ranges from 100 to 500. Each sub-score represents the percentage of content in that area to which students responded correctly. Students may retake the FCAT as many times as they want until they pass it, and can enroll for a free 13th year of school if they need additional instruction to pass the FCAT. Students have up to six opportunities to pass the Grade 10 FCAT prior to graduation. There are options for students struggling to pass the FCAT. A senior can graduate by receiving a score on the ACT or SAT that is comparable to the FCAT passing score. A student must take the Grade 10 FCAT three times without passing before using scores from the ACT or SAT. That requirement does not apply to students who are new to the public school system in grade 12. Also, seniors with a Certificate of Completion may enroll in community college by taking the College Placement Test to determine if they qualify to register for credit or must take remedial courses. Students have a third option - enroll in a GED preparation course. Each school district has its own policies and rules regarding this option. FCAT Science Introduced as part of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test program in the 2003 school year, the FCAT Science test is given to students in grades 5, 8 and 11 and asks questions pertaining to four main areas of science. The FCAT Science tests cover the subject areas of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Earth and Space Sciences, Life and Environmental Sciences and Scientific Thinking. During the test, students are required to perform tasks requiring them to read all parts of the question carefully, plan how to answer the question, explain the scientific process used to determine the answer, and provide the answer to the question in their own words. Florida Writing Assessment Test The Florida Writing Assessment was implemented in grades 4, 8, and 10 as required by a law passed by the 1990 legislature. The assessment measures students’ proficiency in writing responses to topics they are assigned within a designated testing period. The assessment of writing proficiency, by its nature, incorporates the assessment of higher order skills, since students are required to generate and develop the ideas that form the basis for their written responses. The Student Assessment Services Section of the Department of Education, which administers FLORIDA WRITES!, is also responsible for reporting information about student writing proficiency to students, parents, educators, legislators, and citizens. Students and their parents or guardians receive individual student reports, and teachers and administrators receive school and district reports. How School Grades Are Determined • 410 points or more • Meet adequate progress of lowest students in reading • Test at least 95% of eligible students • 380 points or more • Meet adequate progress of lowest students in reading within two years • Test at least 90% of eligible students • 320 points or more • Meet adequate progress of lowest students in reading within two years • Test at least 90% of eligible students • 280 points or more • Test at least 90% of eligible students • Fewer than 280 points or • Less than 90% of eligible students tested • Points-only — alternative schools had the option to earn a points only grade rather than a traditional school grade • The points-only calculation is the same as the traditional school grade calculation; however, no “A” – “F” grade is assigned SOURCE: Florida Dept. of Education Schools that serve high school grade levels will receive a grade based on a weighting of FCAT-based components and non-FCAT-based components proportional to the number and level of non-high-school grades taught at the school at tested grade levels. The word “Pending” will appear as their school grade until the non-FCATbased components are available near the end of 2010. Please see the 2009-2010 School Grades Technical Assistance Paper http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0910/-2010School- GradesTAP.pdf or page 2 of the guide sheet at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0910/Guidesheet2010SchoolGrades.pdf for additional information.

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