Assessment & Accountability Briefing Book

Assessment & Accountability Briefing Book

FCAT

School Accountability

Teacher Certification Tests

Florida Department of Education

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

F. PHILIP HANDY, Chairman T. WILLARD FAIR, Vice Chairman Members LINDA J. EADS, ED.D. CHARLES PATRICK GARC?A JULIA L. JOHNSON WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D. LINDA K. TAYLOR

April 23, 2004

JIM HORNE Commissioner of Education

Dear Friends:

I am pleased to present this Assessment and Accountability Briefing Book for your information.

There is no greater challenge facing Florida's citizens and their elected representatives than public education reform. As Education Commissioner, I take seriously my responsibility to make sure that no child is left behind. I also want to foster cooperation and goodwill among our education community. This means parents and educators will all have a say in the education of our children.

The FCAT has been part of the landscape of education reform in Florida for several years. It plays a key role in the ongoing effort to raise standards. However, it is important to remember that the FCAT is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The result is an improved education for Florida's children and increased accountability for its schools.

I hope this Briefing Book proves useful to you. The Department staff and I stand ready to assist you in any way possible. Working together, we can make sure that all Florida's children receive a world-class education.

Sincerely,

Jim Horne

325 W. GAINES STREET SUITE 1514 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 (850) 245-0505

Table of Contents

I -- Introduction and Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

II -- The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Frequently Asked Questions About the FCAT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Financial Cost of Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Educator Involvement in FCAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

The Question of "Teaching to the Test". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Reporting Student Test Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Reliability and Validity of FCAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

III -- School Accountability in Florida Critically Low Schools ? 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

A+ School Grades ? 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Raising the Bar for A+ ? 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

No Child Left Behind & Adequate Yearly Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

IV -- Other K-12 Assessments The Reading Diagnostic Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

School Readiness Uniform Screening System (SRUSS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

College Board's Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) and

ACT's Educational Planning and Assessment System (PLAN) . . . . . . . . . . 35

V -- Certification Examinations for Florida Educators Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FTCE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Florida Educational Leadership Examination (FELE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

FTCE/FELE Test Administrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

FTCE/FELE Registration and Fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

VI -- Other Postsecondary Assessments Florida College Entry-Level Placement Test (CPT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Florida College Basic Skills Exit Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

The College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

VII -- Appendices A--FCAT Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

B--Scoring of FCAT Performance Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

C--Terms and Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Content Assessed by the FCAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

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Sunshine State Standards (SSS) Tested on the FCAT for Grades 3-5. . . . . C-2

FCAT Norm-Referenced Test (NRT) Content for Grades 3-5 . . . . . . . . . . C-3

Sunshine State Standards (SSS) Tested on the FCAT for Grades 6-8. . . . . C-4

FCAT Norm-Referenced Test (NRT) Content for Grades 6-8 . . . . . . . . . . C-5

Sunshine State Standards (SSS) Tested on the FCAT for Grades 9-10. . . . C-6

FCAT Norm-Referenced Test (NRT) Content for Grades 9-10 . . . . . . . . . C-7

D--Statutes and Rules, Assessment and Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1

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Assessment and Accountability Briefing Book

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