From the Florida Department of Education

2. From the Florida Department of Education www.fcatexplorer.com Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Program Overview

3. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Fidelity with the Official FCAT Strict adherence to the Sunshine State Standards and the DOE’s Test Item & Performance Task Specifications • Rigorous item development process • Items drafted by reading teachers and professional item writers • Items reviewed by instructional designers, testing specialists, bias reviewers, and professional editors From the passage, The Greatest Gaucho

4. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Interactive program offers practice on the FCAT-tested benchmarks Reinforces reading comprehension skills Available at no costto all Florida public schools Accessible from any computer connected to the Internet From the passage, Alternative Energy Sources

5. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Input from Exemplary Education Professionals • Highly-qualified classroom teachers • Recommended for expertise in subject area and grade level • National Board Certified • Recipients of Teacher of the Year awards • Experienced as FCAT Coach and/or Reading Coach • Masters Degrees

6. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Passages and Practice Items

7. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks FCAT-like Practice PASSAGES • 23 original reading passages • Same types: poems, articles, and stories • Same average length and readability level as on the FCAT

8. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks FCAT-like Practice PASSAGES From the passage, The Big Cat “Learn More” reference section provides practice using multiple resources • Charts, tables • Graphs, diagrams • Timelines, schedules • Maps • Bibliographies • Outlines • Supplementary articles & text From the passage, The Erie Canal: Shaping a Nation

9. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks FCAT-like Practice PRACTICE ITEMS • Rigorous item development process • Written by professional item writers • Reviewed, edited and approved by teachers • Revised as needed based on statistical item analysis • Same average number of items per passage as on the FCAT • Number of items per skill based on teacher recommendation for “struggling readers” • No fewer than 5 items per skill • From 5 to 50 items per Benchmark • Same type, style, format, scope & cognitive levelas on the FCAT

10. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks FCAT-like Practice PRACTICE ITEMS From the passage, The Erie Canal: Shaping a Nation • 249 FCAT-like practice items: • 122 Multiple-Choice • 79 Short-Response • 28 Extended-Response • 20 Open-Response • Many items reflect real-world activities and situations

11. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks FCAT-like Practice MULTIPLE CHOICE (MC) • Items clearly support skill • Displays only plausible choices • All answer choices are parallel (e.g., grammatical form) • One clearly best answer • Correct answer supported in the text

12. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks FCAT-like Practice SIMULATED SRs & ERs • Short-Response: Compare two responses & select the high score • Extended-Response: Read one response & assign a score • Simulation strategies recommended by teachers • Based on classroom instructional practices • Requires student to compare or assess critical attributes

13. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks FCAT-like Practice OPEN RESPONSE SRs & ERs • Students compose original answers • Compare student answer to model response • Read explanation of attributes that earn model response a high score Click“Explanation” tab to see why Model earns high score

14. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Instructional Support

15. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Instructional Support • 1ST ATTEMPTCORRECT • Congratulates student • Displays Correct Answer Explanation (CAE) • Identifies which answer is correct • Explains attributes that make each answer correct or incorrect • Reinforces effective skill application

16. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Instructional Support • 1ST ATTEMPT INCORRECT • Informs student that answer is incorrect • Encourages student to re-read text & gives hint about what to look for • Encourages student to strengthen this skill by reviewing “Skill Information” (skill definition & example) • Gives second chance to answer correctly

17. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Instructional Support • 2nd ATTEMPT CORRECT or INCORRECT Instructional support for correct answer • Correct answer: • Congratulates student • Displays CAE • Incorrect answer: • Notifies student that selected answer is incorrect • Displays CAE Instructional support for incorrect answer

18. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Special Features

19. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Special Learning Features • REMEDIAL INSTRUCTION MODULES • Featurespre-test and post-tests • Depending upon pre-test results, program sends student to a set ofremedial modules, each of which teaches one critical reading skill

20. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Special Learning Features • REMEDIAL INSTRUCTION MODULES • Predicting Meaning • Meaning From Context • Using Word Parts • Main Idea • Methods of Organizing Text • Author’s Purpose • Validity & Reliability of Resources • Synthesis of Information

21. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Special Learning Features VIEW QUESTIONS • Allows students to preview item stems(not answer choices) • Helps students establish a purpose for reading • Teacher-requested feature Click “View Questions”

22. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Special Learning Features GLOSSARY Clickthe word portendto go to that Glossary entry • Click linked (blue) words in passage • Click “ear icon” to hear word pronounced • Spelling & part of speech • Definition • Spanish and Haitian Creole translations

23. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Special Learning Features • AS-NEEDED REVIEW • Easy access at any timeto Skills Review • Select skill to review: • Definition • Example

24. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Special Learning Features • CHALLENGE LIST • Links directly to items answered incorrectly • Helps students focus on skill improvement • Displays corresponding Benchmark

25. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Motivational Features

26. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Motivational Features • TIMELINE • Displays animated movement back and forth across time • Movement engages attention • Timeline helps student gain sense of events throughout history

27. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Motivational Features • HIGH-INTEREST PASSAGE TOPICS • Topics drawn from other subject areas in the Sunshine State Standards • Passages reviewed by 10th grade teachers for potential to interest struggling 10th grade students

28. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Motivational Features • ANIMATED ILLUSTRATIONS • Reinforce important ideas in the passage • Help pique curiosity • Help maintain attention & endurance • Help students perceive reading as an interesting activity

29. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Educators’ Tools

30. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Educators’ Tools • Curriculum resources Classroom Teacher’s Desk • Skills Location Map • Table of Benchmarks and Skills • Item Review • Letter to Parents School Administrator’s Desk • Information management tools • Sign-in names and passwords • Progress Reports • Messages to students District Administrator’s Desk

31. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Student Performance Reports At the Classroom Teacher’s Desk • Check progress on individuals or classes • View reading data by Benchmark, Skill, or Passage • Compare percentage correct before and after instructional support

32. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks The Parent & Family Guide • Accessible from the home page without a password • Available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole • Helps parents, guardians, and mentors understand the Sunshine State Standards and the FCAT • Provides Everyday Activitiesto help parents reinforce Benchmarks and Skills

33. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Visit the Educator Resources Page • Linked from the home page • Download this PowerPoint presentation • Download the School Administrator’s Desk Manual • Download the Teacher’s Desk Manual • Download several program-specific presentations

34. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks Toll-Free Help Desk • Accessible from the home page without a password • 1-888-750-FCAT1-888-750-3228 • Weekdays 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

35. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks To get sign-in names & passwords School Principals: Contact your District Office and speak to the “District Administrator” for the FCAT Explorer Teachers: Contact your “School Administrator” for the FCAT Explorer FCAT Explorer Home Page (www.fcatexplorer.com)

36. Reading Timeline: 10th Grade Benchmarks www.fcatexplorer.com Log on to the FCAT Explorer!