1 / 24

Third Grade FCAT Information Things to Know and How to Help at Home Oakleaf Village Elementary February 23 rd , 2011

Third Grade FCAT Information Things to Know and How to Help at Home Oakleaf Village Elementary February 23 rd , 2011. AGENDA. Things to Know and How to Help at Home 3 RD Grade Portfolio 4 th Grade Writing. What is the FCAT? The Florida Comprehensive Assessment

mckayla
Download Presentation

Third Grade FCAT Information Things to Know and How to Help at Home Oakleaf Village Elementary February 23 rd , 2011

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Third Grade FCAT InformationThings to KnowandHow to Help at HomeOakleaf Village ElementaryFebruary 23rd, 2011

  2. AGENDA • Things to KnowandHow to Help at Home • 3RD Grade Portfolio • 4th Grade Writing

  3. What is the FCAT? • The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test® 2.0 (FCAT 2.0) is a criterion referenced test that measures student achievement of the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards • The transition from FCAT to FCAT 2.0 will be phased in, with 2011 FCAT 2.0 • Reading (grades 3 – 10) and Mathematics (grades 3 – 8) being the first assessments to begin this transition. • Third Grade students only take Reading and Math assessments

  4. Why do students take the test? • FCAT 2.0 will provide parents, teachers, policy makers, and the general public with an understanding of how well students are learning the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.

  5. When’s the test? • The FCAT test will be administered in April over a four day period: • Monday April 16 • Tuesday April 17 • Wednesday April 18 • Thursday April 19

  6. What is the test breakdown? • Day Session • Monday, April 16th Reading Session #1 • Tuesday, April 17th Reading Session # 2 • Wednesday, April 18th Math Session # 3 • Thursday, April 19th Math Session # 4 • All sessions are 70 minutes. • All questions are multiple choice and there will be 50-55 questions per subject area.

  7. FCAT Levels • The FCAT is scored using levels 1-5 • A level 5 is the highest a student can earn • A level 1 is the lowest a student can earn and indicates a student is performing a year below grade level • Third Grade students must earn a Level 2 on the READING portion to pass the FCAT • Students who earn a Level 1 in READING will fall under the mandatory retention rule

  8. Test Questions • The benchmarks in the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards identify knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire at each grade level, with the underlying expectation that students also demonstrate critical thinking. • Goal 3, Standard 4, of Florida’s System of School Improvement and Accountability makes this expectation clear:

  9. Questions cont. • “Florida students use creative thinking skills to generate new ideas, make the best decisions, recognize and solve problems through reasoning, interpret symbolic data, and develop efficient techniques for lifelong learning.” • FCAT 2.0 test items, while assessing NGSSS benchmarks, must also reflect this goal and standard. It is important to develop items that elicit the complexity of knowledge and skills required to meet these objectives.

  10. Questions cont. • The degree of challenge of multiple-choice items is currently categorized and scored in two ways: • Item difficulty • Cognitive complexity

  11. Item Difficulty • This does not refer to how hard a question is • Prior to the test it refers to the predicted percentage of students who choose the correct answer • After the test it refers to the percentage of students who actually chose the correct answer

  12. Item difficulty cont. • Easy • More than 70% of students choose correct answer • Moderate • 40-70% of students choose correct answer • Challenging • Less than 40% of students choose the correct answer

  13. Florida DOE • For more information on the FCAT 2.0 you can go to the Florida Department of Education’s website: • http://www.fldoe.org/

  14. How to help at home • Over the next few slides we will share some helpful tips to help your child prepare for the FCAT 2.0 in April

  15. Tip # 1 • Most students already know what they need to know for the test • Stay POSITIVE and help your child do the same • Kids are very observant and can sense when adults are nervous • If you are anxious and stressed about the FCAT, chances are your child will be too

  16. Tip # 2 • Question, Question, Question • The more you ask your child questions the more you help support his/her comprehension • The more you talk to your child the more they are going to understand new vocabulary and experiences

  17. Questions for Reading Comp. • “If you were able to change the ending in the story what would you do?” • “How does the main character change throughout the story?” • “What would you have done if you had to solve the problem the main character had?” • “Why do you think the main character acted that way?” • Remember to ask for supporting details

  18. Questions are not just for Reading • Find those real world connections to help support math skills: • At Publix- We want to buy three boxes of Cheerios cereal. About how much will we spend? How much change would we get from a $20. How do you know? • Watching football- The score of the game was 34 to 17. How did each of the teams score their points and how do you know? • Using the newspaper- Look at the weather section. Which city had the lowest temperature yesterday? What was the difference in temperature between Jacksonville and Atlanta?

  19. Tip # 3 • • Use the internet: here are some helpful websites • • www.fcatexplorer.com • • www.eduplace.com • • www.internet4classrooms.com • • www.fldoe.org/successmeasures

  20. Tip # 4 • Don’t OVERDO IT • All teachers are working very hard to prepare students in class for the FCAT 2.0 and are puttingemphasis on the test as well • It’s important to have students not only academically ready but mentally ready too • Doing too much at home in addition to what is done at school could potentially “burn-out” students. Keep the balance!

  21. Things to Know for test day • Desks will be set up in rows. • Students will be spaced as far apart as possible. • Test booklets WILL NOT be collected until time is called. • If a student is finished before time is called she/she MAY NOT read or do any activity. • Students must sit silently for the duration of each of the tests. • Students with educational plans who receive accommodations will be tested in a setting other than their classroom.

  22. Cont. • Students should have a good breakfast (nothing too sugary) • Students need to get a good night’s sleep before each test day • Students must be on time- testing will start first thing in the AM and students will not be allowed in class once testing begins

  23. Cont. • If a child is sick, keep them home- if they start the test and then leave campus they can’t finish it (there is make-up testing if they miss a day of testing) • Night before each test day, don’t focus on the test and stay positive • Do something fun and non-stressful (an argument at home can really be stressful)

  24. Thanks for coming!

More Related