understanding the fcat

Materials

FCAT Achievement Levels

Test Content and Format, pg. 12 (FCAT Skills Assessed)

Examples of Reading Activities Across Cognitive Complexity Levels, pg. 16

Description of FCAT Scale Scores/Developmental Scale Scores (DSS)

FCAT Content Focus Report Sample

FCAT Cognitive Complexity Classification System

Memo Pad/Sticky Notes, Highlighter

Dessalines Floyd, District Literacy Specialist

Floydd1@duvalschools.org

The Four Rs

RELATIONSHIP

Relationship Affects

Performance

Attitude shapes action.Action shapes attitude.

Each can potentially affect FCAT performance.

RELEVANCE

FCAT reading passage topics come in a wide variety of forms.

Social Studies Science The Arts Foreign Languages Literature

Provide Effective Learning Communities

What questions do you have for me?

RIGOR

Overview

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® (FCAT) measures student performance on selected benchmarks in reading, mathematics, writing, and science that are defined by the Sunshine State Standards (SSS).

The SSS articulate challenging content that Florida students are expected to know and be able to do.

Achievement Levels describe the success a student has achieved on the Florida Sunshine State Standards tested on the FCAT Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Writing assessments.

How are the achievement levels similar?How are they different?

(see FCAT Achievement Levels)

So what makes challenging items challenging?

FCAT Cognitive Complexity Classification SystemNorman L. Webb's Depth of Knowledge

(see Cognitive Complexity Classification)

Overview of Terminology

• Low

• Moderate

• High

“The categories—low complexity, moderate complexity, and high complexity—form an ordered description of the cognitive demands an item makes on a student. Items at the low level of complexity require a simple skill, such as locating details in a text or

solving a one-step problem. At the moderate level, an item can ask the student to summarize a passage or retrieve information from a graph and use it to solve a

problem. At the high level, an item may require a student to analyze cause-and-effect relationships or justify a solution to a problem.”

(FCAT Handbook—A Resource for Educators, pg. 16)

DOK depends on taskDOK depends on taskDifficulty depends on studentsDifficulty depends on students

Synthesizes Info Synthesizes Info Synthesizes Info

HighDOK

Moderate DOK

LowDOK

Easy ChallengingAverageBased on percentage of students likely to respond correctly

Tasks can be anywhere in this graph

Any one task will be in one row only, but can be in any column

Take the Challenge

Select a partner.

One individual solves while the other assists.

Switch!

Can you identify the complexity of each of the following tasks?

Person A

Person B

Remember…

Item Complexity and difficulty are not one-in-the-same.

Item complexity is not determined by the % of students who answer the question correctly.

Teaching students to master questions of higher complexity will improve their FCAT score.

What questions do you have for me?

RESULTS

FCAT Reporting Categories

Cluster = Strand = Category

Benchmark New Benchmark Alignment

Content Focus Number of Points

Possible

Cluster 1: Words and Phrases in

Context

A142 LA.910.1.7.3 Conclusions/inferences 4

A142 LA.910.1.6.8 Analyze words/text 1

A142 LA.910.1.6.3 Context 1

Reporting Cluster Point Total 6

Cluster 2: Main Idea, Plot, and Purpose

A241 LA.910.1.7.3 Details/facts* 6

A241 LA.910.1.7.3 Main idea/essential message 1

A242 LA.910.1.7.2 Author's purpose 2

E241 LA.910.2.1.5 Plot development/major events 1

E241 LA.910.2.1.7 Descriptive language 3

E241 LA.910.2.1.5 Character development 1

E241 LA.910.2.1.7 Figurative language 3

Reporting Cluster Point Total 17

(see FCAT Reading 2009, Content Focus Report)

How should use of content focus reports be limited?

“Content Focus Reports should not be used to make decisions about instruction at the individual student level. A number of the reporting categories have too few items to report reliable, or meaningful, scores at the student level. For example, the Grade 3 FCAT Reading reporting category of Reference and Research may have as few as two test items. Therefore, while well-intended, providing remedial instruction in this category may not be justified and may be an inefficient use of instructional time. In all cases, content focus data should not be used as sole indicators to determine remedial needs of students.”

How should use of content focus reports be limited?

“The number of items within the reporting category will vary by grade level. Consequently, users should not compare cluster performance data across grade levels. ”

How should use of content focus reports be limited?

“The difficulty of the items measuring each SSS benchmark will vary from one year to the next. Consequently, users should not compare cluster performance data across years. . ”

How should use of content focus reports be limited?

“The analysis is based on state-level data that is not intended to provide specific classroom, school, or district interpretations. . ”

Five ways to help your students get better results on the FCAT

# 1Use questions that require students to

explain their answers.

# 2Have students apply their Reading and Mathematics

skills using challenging content from all subject areas.

(roughly 20-30% of the content is literary while approximately 70% of it is informational text on the reading assessment)

# 3Use open-ended question formats that are

similar to FCAT items.

# 4Rate and grade students’ work using the FCAT

and Florida Writes rubrics. In this way, students can become familiar with what is expected of them on the FCAT.

# 5Use and develop questions for class discussions and

tests that are of the same cognitive rigor as those on the FCAT.

What questions do you have for me?

Red

Blue

Green

Comment on something that you do not understand.

Share something that you learned a great deal about.

Request more information on a topic.

Resources

• FCAT Achievement Levels

http://fcat.fldoe.org/pdf/fcAchievementLevels.pdf

• Content Focus Reports

http://fcat.fldoe.org/fccontentfocus.asp

• Cognitive Complexity Classification of FCAT Items

http://fcat.fldoe.org/pdf/cog_complexity-fv31.pdf

• FCAT Test Design Summary & Released Tests

http://fcat.fldoe.org/pdf/fc05designsummary.pdf

http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatrelease.asp

Dessalines Floyd, District Literacy Specialist, Floydd1@duvalschools.org