FCAT
A brief primer on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).
What is the FCAT?
It’s the standardized tests given by the State of Florida to 3rd through 11th graders.
The tests usually take place in February and March of each year.
What is the difference between the FCAT and the NRT tests?
The FCAT compares your student’s performance with all the other students in Florida in that grade. The NRT tests compare the performance of your student with all the other students in the nation (America).
What is the testing schedule?
Every grade from 3rd to 10th grade is tested in reading and math. Writing is tested in 4th, 8th, and 10th grades. Science is tested in 5th, 8th, and 11th grades.
Are some of the tests more important than others?
YES! The 3rd grade reading test MUST be passed in order for a student to be promoted to 4th grade. If they don’t pass it, they MUST repeat 3rd grade.
YES! The 10th grade Reading and Math and Writing+ tests MUST be passed in order to graduate from high school with a standard high school diploma.
No other FCAT tests will make or break your child in terms of passing or failing a grade.
Answer from the www.fldoe.org website:
Grade 3 students must earn an FCAT Reading score of Level 2 or higher on a scale of 1 – 5 in order to be promoted to Grade 4. Graduating seniors must pass both the Reading and Mathematics sections of the Grade 10 FCAT to graduate from high school with a standard high school diploma. Students enrolling in Grade 9 for the first time in the 2006-07 school year must also pass the Grade 10 FCAT Writing+ assessment in addition to meeting the reading and mathematics expectations. Requirements of FCAT scores for passing to the next grade level are set by school districts throughout Florida, as stated in each district’s Student Progression Plan, as permitted in s. 1008.22(2)(c), F.S.
YIKES! What if a child doesn’t pass. What can be done?
A passing ON GRADE LEVEL score on the FCAT is a 3, 4, or 5. 3 is on grade level. 4 and 5 are above grade level. 5 being the best possible score.
A failing (below grade level) score on the FCAT is a 1 (the lowest achievement level) or a 2.
FAILING 3rd graders:
If a child in 3rd grade fails the reading test, there is another exam they can pass to be promoted to 4th grade. Your school may be able to offer other remedies too. ASK! Personally, if FOR WHATEVER REASON, you feel your child will not pass this test-make reading a priority in your home ASAP.
1. Read to your child a chapter or two from a book every night. Don’t have time? Get them audio tapes of books. Listen to them at bedtime, on trips in the car, while waiting here and there.
WHY?
This exposes them to the correct pronunciation of words.
The appropriate level of vocabulary.
The rhythm of good writing.
The elements of a story written at their level.
Information they should be learning and their peers that are readers are learning.
NO MATTER WHAT YOU READ, YOU LEARN!
2. Make your child read 40 minutes a day at their independent level. They make no more than 5 (tops!) mistakes per page. Comic books are OK. So are cartoons. Newspaper, magazines, let your child choose what most interests them.
3. Get a tutor. You can’t afford not to. The tutor could be YOU or an older sibling.
4. Work on phonics-how to decipher words; fluency-reading without start and stopping inappropriately and with great inflection; comprehension-understanding what is read.
Answer from the www.fldoe.org website:
Grade 3 students are not retained solely because they do not pass the Reading portion of the Grade 3 FCAT. For promotion to Grade 4, there are six good cause exemptions for students scoring at a Level 1 on the Grade 3 FCAT Reading test, and they include:
limited English proficient (LEP) students with less than two years in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program,
students with disabilities whose individual educational plan (IEP) indicates that participation in the FCAT is not appropriate,
demonstration of an acceptable level of performance on the alternate assessment (SAT 10) or scoring at the 51st percentile or higher on the Norm-Referenced Test (NRT) portion of the FCAT,
demonstration of proficiency in accordance with the Sunshine State Standard Benchmarks of Language Arts through a student portfolio,
students with disabilities who participate in the FCAT, but still demonstrate a deficiency in reading after more than two years of intensive remediation, and were previously retained in kindergarten, first, second, or third grade, and
students who still demonstrate a deficiency in reading after two or more years of intensive remediation and were previously retained in kindergarten, first, second, or third grade for a total of two years.
In 2004, Rule 6A-1.094222, FAC, entitled “Standards for Mid-Year Promotion of Retained Third Graders,” was passed, and it became effective for the 2004-05 school year. A retained Grade 3 student is eligible for mid-year promotion during the first semester of the academic year if the student demonstrates mastery of the Grade 3 Sunshine State Standard Benchmarks of Language Arts and beginning mastery of the Benchmarks for Grade 4 (mastery should be consistent with the month of promotion to Grade 4). With teacher supervision, a student may complete a portfolio that demonstrates mastery of the appropriate Benchmarks, or a student may demonstrate proficiency by performing at an acceptable level on a locally-selected standardized assessment.
FAILING 10th graders:
If your child is a 10th grader, get remediation.
Answer from the www.fldoe.org website:
Students in the middle grades and in high school who score at Level 1 on FCAT Reading must be enrolled in and complete an intensive reading course the following year, and Level 2 readers must be placed in an intensive reading course or a content area course in which reading strategies are delivered as determined by diagnosis of reading needs. Students in the middles grades and in high school who score a Level 1 or Level 2 on FCAT Mathematics must receive remediation the following year, which may be integrated in the student’s required mathematics course.
All students who score below a Level 3 on FCAT Reading or Mathematics must be provided with additional diagnostic assessments to determine the nature of the student’s difficulty, the areas of academic need, and strategies for appropriate intervention and instruction as described in the student’s individualized progress monitoring plan.
Retake the examination.
Answer from the www.fldoe.org website:
Students in Grades 11 and 12 who have not passed the Grade 10 FCAT have up to six additional opportunities to pass the Grade 10 FCAT before graduation. Students may retest on the Reading or Mathematics section of the FCAT, or both sections, in fall, spring, and summer of their junior and senior years. Students who have not successfully passed the Grade 10 FCAT prior to their expected graduation may retake the FCAT as many times as they want until they pass it.
Go to the Florida Department of Education website www.fldoe.org. Select FCAT. Select FAQ for more information. That’s the best source for answers about your child’s requirements, school’s requirements, and options available to you.
What are developmental scale scores (DSS) and scale scores?
Answer from the fldoe.org website:
FCAT Reading and Mathematics student results are reported by Achievement Levels based on their scale scores, and, after conversion, their developmental scale scores. Scale scores, ranging from 100 to 500 for each grade level, are converted to developmental scale scores, which place the scores of students on a scale ranging from 0 to 3000 for all grade levels tested. Based on their scale scores (or, after conversion, developmental scale scores), students are assigned one of five Achievement Level classifications. The levels range from lowest level (Level 1) to the highest level (Level 5). Level 3 indicates that a student’s performance is on grade level.
Developmental scale scores were introduced in 2002 to track student progress over time and across grade levels to indicate student “growth,” or “learning gains.” For this reason, they are the scores students and parents receive on their FCAT SSS Reading and FCAT SSS Mathematics Student and Parent Reports. By using FCAT developmental scale scores, parents can monitor their student’s academic progress from one grade to the next. By comparing a student’s scores in the same FCAT subject for two or more years with the associated mean scores (or with the various Achievement Levels) for those years, it is possible to identify whether a student’s performance improved, declined, or remained consistent.
Achievement Levels, based on scale scores (not developmental scale scores), were reported for FCAT Science beginning in 2006 and will be reported for FCAT Writing+ beginning in 2007. Developmental scale scores cannot be determined for FCAT Science and Writing+ because students are not tested in these subjects at each grade level.
fcachievementlevels Achievement Level, Developmental Scale Score, Scale Score Tables for grades 3-11:
