What is the FCAT?
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) is a standard-referenced assessment. The results provide a snapshot of where students stand, not in relation to each other, but in relation to their ability to reach educational standards that Floridians expect. These expectations are outlined in the Sunshine State Standards.
Who Takes the FCAT?
Initially, students took the FCAT reading tests in grades 4, 8 and 10, and the mathematics tests in grades 5, 8 and 10. In 1999, the Legislature expanded it to include grades 3-10 for both reading and mathematics.
Contents of FCAT Reading Tests
- 6–7 reading passages
- 40–45 multiple-choice questions
- 6–8 short response performance tasks
- 2–3 extended response performance tasks
The reading tests at grades 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 consist of reading passages and multiple-choice questions only. Although less than 20% of the test questions use the extended response and short response formats, a much greater percentage of the total score is based on these written responses. The chart below shows the percent of questions and the percent of points on the FCAT.
5 Things to Know About The FCAT
- In 1999, FCAT was included in the School Accountability Report, which is used to identify Critically Low-Performing Schools, as well as High-Performing Schools.
- FCAT is used for promotion and graduation purposes at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.
- FCAT is used to identify students in need of remediation in reading and math, to obtain feedback on curriculum and teaching strategies, and to gauge student progress.
- Most students who expect to graduate from high school in the 2002-2003 school year must earn passing scores on the grade ten FCAT.
- Science will be added at selected grade levels in 2003.
Features of FCAT
| Subject & Grade | Question Formats | % of Questions | % of Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | Multiple Choice | 83% | 68% |
| 4, 8 & 10 | Short & Extended Response | 17% | 32% |
The FCAT reading test is different from typical tests because it requires students to analyze, synthesize and evaluate the information presented, and then apply strategies or procedures. This level of thinking goes beyond the recall of facts and basic comprehension typical of many standardized test questions.
To ensure that intended levels of cognitive tasks are represented on the FCAT, the Florida Department of Education adopted a simple, two-level classification system based on the taxonomy developed by Bloom. The figure below illustrates that 70% of the items on the 10th grade reading test are at the Application, Analysis, Synthesis, or Evaluation levels.
FCAT Passages
The purpose of the FCAT reading test is to measure students' achievement in constructing meaning from a wide variety of texts. Two general categories of passages included on FCAT are informational texts and literary texts. Each FCAT reading test consists of 2–3 literary passages and 4–5 informational passages. The average number of words per passage is 900.
Informational texts includes subject area texts, diaries, magazine articles, essays, newspaper articles, consumer materials, biographies, autobiographies, advertisements, "how to" instructions, and editorials.
Literary texts includes short stories, literary essays, poems, historical fiction, fables, folk-tales, plays, and excerpts from novels.
The selections cover content areas such as mathematics, science, social studies, language arts, health, and physical education. At the 10th Grade level, 70% of the passages are informational and 30% are literary.
Multiple Choice Questions
FCAT multiple-choice questions always have four answer choices. Students are directed to choose the best answer. Each multiple-choice question is worth 1 point and should take approximately one minute per item to answer.
Sample question:
Choose the statement that BEST expresses the author's point of view.
- Relationships in a family are never predictable.
- A tree will grow if it receives a family's attention.
- Family interactions are motivated by complex feelings.
- Teenagers in a family have different ways of expressing love.
Short Response Performance Tasks
This symbol appears next to questions that require a short written answer. Students have 8 lines for each answer, which should take approximately 5 minutes to complete. Short responses are scored using a 2-point scoring rubric. A complete and correct answer is worth 2 points. A partial answer is worth 1 point.
Sample question:
What is the main problem and the resolution in the story? Use details and information from the story to explain your answer.
The Rubric
A rubric is an established, written set of criteria for scoring students' responses. A general rubric is used as a guideline for score points used for all responses.
The short response questions on the FCAT receive a score of either 2, 1, or 0.
- Score 2
- A score of two indicates that the student has a complete understanding of the reading concept embodied in the task. The student has provided a response that is accurate, complete, and fulfills all the requirements of the task. Necessary support and/or examples are included, and the information given is clearly text-based.
- Score 1
- A score of one indicates that the student has a partial understanding of the reading concept embodied in the task. The student has provided a response that may include information that is essentially correct and text-based, but the information is too general or too simplistic. Some of the support and/or examples may be incomplete or omitted.
- Score 0
- A score of zero indicates that the response is inaccurate, confused, and/or irrelevant, or the student has failed to respond to the task.
Extended Response Performance Tasks
This symbol appears next to those questions requiring longer written answers. Students have 14 lines for each answer, which should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. The extended responses are scored using a 4-point scoring rubric. A complete and correct answer to each of these questions is worth 4 points. A partial answer is worth 1, 2, or 3 points.
Sample question:
At the beginning of the story, the father speaks in an "authoritative voice" to tell his four children they will move the tree from the backyard on the following Saturday. Are the father's "voice" and actions authoritative throughout the story? Use details and information from the story to explain your answer.
The Rubric
The extended response questions on the FCAT can be scored 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0.
- Score 4
- A score of four indicates that the student has a thorough understanding of the reading concept embodied in the task. The student has provided a response that is accurate, complete, and fulfills all the requirements of the task. Necessary support and/or examples are included, and the information is clearly text-based.
- Score 3
- A score of three indicates that the student has an understanding of the reading concept embodied in the task. The student has provided a response that is accurate and fulfills all the requirements of the task, but the required support and/or details are not complete or clearly text-based.
- Score 2
- A score of two indicates that the student has a partial understanding of the reading concept embodied in the task. The student has provided a response that may include information that is essentially correct and text-based, but the information is too general or too simplistic. Some of the support and/or examples and requirements of the task may be incomplete or omitted.
- Score 1
- A score of one indicates that the student has a very limited understanding of the reading concept embodied in the task. The response is incomplete, may exhibit many flaws, and may not address all requirements of the task.
- Score 0
- A score of zero indicates that the response is inaccurate, confused, and/or irrelevant, or the student has failed to respond to the task.
Tips for Scoring FCAT Responses
- Remember this is a test of reading comprehension, not a test of writing.
- The overriding question is "Does this response show that the student comprehends both the question and the reading passage?"
- Students are not required to restate the question. In fact, restating the question can use 2 to 3 lines of valuable space needed to provide sufficient details and explanation.
- Focus on what the student does right rather than errors, unless these errors indicate the student did not comprehend the reading task.
- Remember that students should provide an explanation or interpretation in their own words, in addition to using key words or phrases from the article.
- For questions that have more than one part, consider the amount of information available in the passage for answering each part. If text-based information is limited for one part of the question, students will not be expected to provide equal support for that part.
The Road to an FCAT Reading Test
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Selection of Potential Passages
Passages, articles, stories, and poems are selected by the test development contractor (a commercial testing company) and submitted to the Department of Education (DOE) for approval.
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DOE Internal Passage Review
The DOE internal review selects passages based on the appropriate grade level content, length, vocabulary, and lack of bias. Only previously published passages are chosen (if they have not been used in the classroom).
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Passage Review Process
Florida educators are invited to participate in the content review of the passages and articles. Community representatives from across the state are invited to participate in the bias and sensitivity review. These two committees make recommendations to accept or reject the passages and articles.
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Development of Items
The contractor develops items (using Sunshine Standards and FCAT specifications) from the passages that were accepted by the Passage Review Committee and DOE. Approximately 15 items for each passage are forwarded to the DOE for review.
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Item Review Process
After the DOE has reviewed the items, community representatives are invited to participate in the bias and sensitivity review. In addition, Florida educators are invited to participate on grade level committees for item content review.
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Construction of Tests
The contractor and DOE select passages and items to be field-tested. After each item has been field-tested, it is evaluated for how well it performed. Complete tests are constructed using proven items (previously field-tested) as the "core" and new field-test items.
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Evaluation & Distribution
The final version of the test goes through many different proofing stages. After the final "thumbs up," the test is printed and distributed by the contractor and the Florida DOE.