Welcome Parents to FCAT Night Presented by the 4 th Grade Panthers

What is FCAT? Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Administered to students in grades 3-11 Given to measure what students know in Reading, Mathematics, Writing, and Science Fourth graders will take the FCAT Writing+, Reading, and Mathematics tests this year

Testing Dates February 12-15, 2008 –FCAT Writing+ March 11-25, 2008 –FCAT Sunshine State Standards (SSS) Reading and Mathematics –FCAT Norm-Referenced Test (NRT) Reading and Mathematics

FCAT Writing+

There are two parts: –Writing Prompt Assessment –Multiple Choice Assessment Students will have 45 minutes to complete each portion

Types of Writing Prompts EXPOSITORY: –Expository writing explains, defines, or tells how to do something NARRATIVE: –Narrative writing tells a story that is either real of imagined

Prompts from the Past EXPOSITORY Write to explain why you think a certain pet would be good for your classroom. Explain why it is important to eat healthy foods. Write to explain why you would like to be a particular person for a day. NARRATIVE Tell a story about your most embarrassing moment. Tell what happens after you go through a door that is always locked. Tell a story about the day the teacher surprised the class. Write to explain why you think a certain pet would be good for your classroom. Explain why it is important to eat healthy foods. Tell a story about your most embarrassing moment. Write to explain why you would like to be a particular person for a day. Tell what happens after you go through a door that is always locked. Tell a story about the day the teacher surprised the class.

Writing Rubric Student papers are scored using a 1-6 rubric based on the following guidelines: –Focus –Organization –Support –Conventions

Fourth Grade Rubric Focus May only minimally address topic Is slightly related to topic or may offer little relevant information Is generally focused on topic but may include extraneous or loosely related material Focuses on topic Is focused on the topic

Fourth Grade Rubric Organization Does not exhibit organizational pattern; few, if any transitional devices Little evidence of organizational pattern; may lack sense of wholeness Organizational pattern attempted; although some transitional devices used lapses may occur Organizational pattern evident, although some lapses may occur; demonstrates some sense of completeness Has an organizational pattern, although some lapses may occur; paper demonstrates a sense of completeness Organizational pattern provides a logical progression of ideas; sense of wholeness and/or completeness

Fourth Grade Rubric Support Supporting ideas sparse; limited or immature word choice Support is inadequate or illogical; limited or immature word choice Some support included; development lacks specific details; limited, predictable, vague word choice Some supporting ideas may contain specifics and details although development is uneven; word choice is adequate Adequate development of supporting ideas; word choice is adequate, lacks precision Ample development of supporting ideas; mature command of language, precise word choice

Fourth Grade Rubric Conventions Frequent errors in sentence structure and usage may impede communication; common words may be misspelled; simple sentence construction Little variation in sentence structure; frequent errors in basic punctuation and capitalization; common words may be mispelled Attempt to use variety in sentence structure; knowledge of conventions and mechanics and usage is usually demonstrated; commonly used words are usually spelled correctly Attempt to use variety in sentence structure; conventions of mechanics, usage, and spelling are generally followed Various sentence structures used; convention of mechanics, usage, and spelling are generally followed; occasional errors do not impede communication Various sentence structures used; sentences are complete (except for purposeful fragments); subject/verb agreement and verb/noun forms are generally correct

Now it’s time to look at sample student writing!

Writing+ Multiple Choice Test Addresses writing rubric: Focus, Organization, Support, and Conventions Multiple choice questions are followed by several choices

Writing+ Sample Questions 1.Which subtopic from Lisa’s Writing Plan is off-topic and should be crossed of the plan? A.What I did B.What I learned C.Why I like dogs D.Who went with me

Writing+ Sample Questions 2.Which sentence contains a detail that is unimportant to the story? A.Sentence 1 B.Sentence 4 C.Sentence 7 D.Sentence 8

Writing+ Sample Questions

What You Can Do to Help Read! Provide writing materials Be a writer yourself Share some of your work related writing Respond to your child’s writing by: –Keeping it positive! –Being excited! –Making suggestions for improvement when needed –Being the Coach…Not the Writer

FCAT Reading

Types of Questions: –Multiple Choice (1 Pt) –Short Response (2 Pts) –Long Response (4 Pts) The Reading SSS Assessment is broken up into two sessions (80 minutes each) Students will answer approximately 50 questions which include 5-7 short or long response questions Students will also take the Reading NRT during the 2 nd week of testing (one session)

FCAT Reading Reading questions are based on the Sunshine State Standards benchmarks: –LA Vocabulary –LA Author’s Purpose –LA Main Idea, Details, Sequence –LA Cause and Effect –LA Compare and Contrast –LA Plot Development/Resolution –LA Reference and Research

Types of Reading Passages Literary Text 50% –Short Stories, Literary Essays, Excerpts, Poems, Historical Fiction, Fables and Folk Tales, and Plays Informational Text 50% –Subject-Area Text, Magazine and Newspaper Articles, Diaries, Editorials, Informational Essays, Biographies, Autobiographies, How-To Articles, Advertisements, Tables and Graphical Presentations of Text Passage Length Ranges from Words (Average 400 Words per Passage)

Complexity Levels The complexity of questions are based on Webb’s Depth of Knowledge: –Low (read the lines) –Moderate (read between the lines) –High (read beyond the lines)

Now it’s time to look at a sample reading passage!

What You Can Do to Help Read! Provide reading spaces at home Be a reader yourself! Ask your child questions about what they read Connect reading and writing

FCAT Math

Students will take two sessions of the FCAT SSS on the same day with a break in between They will have about 120 minutes to answer approximately 50 multiple choice questions Students will also take the Math FCAT NRT during the second week of testing

The Five Strands of Math Number Sense Measurement Geometry and Spatial Sense Algebraic Thinking Data Analysis and Probability

Number Sense

Measurement

Geometry and Spatial Sense

Algebraic Thinking

Data Analysis and Probability

What You Can Do to Help Help your child master basic facts Explore math in every day life Make mathematics part of your children’s daily life Help your child learn the vocabulary of mathematics Encourage your child to do math “in their head”

Remember that the most important person in your child’s education is you. Thank you for coming and have a great evening!