Common Core State Standards
FCAT 2.0
Next Generation State Standards
Sunshine State Standards
Making Meaning
Revised 8/1/2011
Sunshine State Standards Presents a Demand
for Critical Thinking…..
• The benchmarks in the Sunshine State Standards
(SSS) 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:
– 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.
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FCAT 2.0 Item Specifications
• Committees of experienced Florida educators
developed and approved the specifications documents.
• The Specifications is a resource document that defines
the content and format of the test and test items for
item writers and reviewers.
• Each grade-level specifications document indicates the
alignment of items with the Standards.
• It also serves to provide all stakeholders with
information about the scope and function of the FCAT.
• The Specifications provide general and grade-specific
guidelines for the development of all test items used in
the FCAT Reading test .
See Resources slide for website
2
 To increase depth, understanding, process
skills, and proficiency
 To lead to mastery of concepts and skills
DEEP
understanding
UNDERSTANDING
3
How are the FCAT and
FCAT 2.0 different?
 The FCAT 2.0 Reading assessments in grades 3-10 will
include a greater number of reading passages from the
public domain, such as historical documents and works by
classical authors.(e.g. Bill of Rights, Twain, etc.)
 FCAT 2.0 tests will not have any performance task items-ONLY multiple-choice items or Gridded Response for
math.
 The FCAT 2.0 Reading assessments in grades 3-10 will
include a greater number of test items that require
reasonable inferences and reasonable prior knowledge.
 Will reflect NGSSS and Benchmarks test at all 3 levels of
cognitive complexity.
4
Comparing Old/New Standards
FCAT Reading Reporting Categories
SSS 1996
NGSSS 2007
Words and Phrases in
Context
Main Idea, Plot, and
Purpose
Comparisons and
Cause/Effect
Reference and
Research
Vocabulary
Reading Application
Literary Analysis
Informational TextResearch Process
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FCAT 2.0 Reading Reporting Categories
Literary
Analysis
Fiction/
Nonfiction
Informational
Text/ Research
Process
Grades
Vocabulary
Reading
Application
3-5
20%
30%
30%
20%
6-7
20%
30%
30%
20%
8
20%
25%
25%
30%
9-10
20%
25%
25%
30%
6
Grade (s)
Low Complexity
Moderate Complexity
High Complexity
3
25-35%
50-70%
5-15%
4*
20-30%
50-70%
10-20%
5-7
15-25%
50-70%
15-25%
8*
10-20%
50-70%
20-30%
9*
10-20%
50-70%
20-30%
10
10-20%
45-65%
25-35%
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Moderate Complexity :
Skills required to respond correctly to moderate complexity
items include:
Low Complexity:
Skills required to respond correctly to low
complexity items include :
• identifying the correct meanings of gradeappropriate words;
• locating details in a text;
• locating details on a graph, chart, or
diagram;
• recognizing the correct order of events in a
text; or
• identifying figurative language in a text.
• using context clues to identify the meanings of unfamiliar words;
• determining how details support the main idea;
• interpreting the information in graphs, charts, and diagrams;
• identifying cause-and-effect relationships;
• determining an author’s main purpose or point of view;
• identifying similarities and differences;
• demonstrating an understanding of plot development;
• recognizing elements of plot;
• recognizing patterns of organization;
• summarizing the major points of a text;
• comparing word meanings.
High Complexity:
Skills required to respond correctly to high complexity items
include:
• analyzing the use of figurative language in a text;
• showing how graphs, charts, and diagrams contribute to a text;
• determining an author’s purpose and/or point of view and describing
how it affects the text;
• evaluating strong vs. weak arguments in a text;
• analyzing similarities and differences;
• describing and analyzing the characteristics of various types of
literature;
• describing and illustrating how common themes are found across texts;
• analyzing cause-and-effect relationships.
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FCAT 2.0
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
Grade 9
FCAT 2.0 Reading Sample Questions
The intent of these booklets is to orient teachers and students to the types of questions on
FCAT 2.0 tests. By using these materials, students will become familiar with the types of
items and response formats that they will see on the actual test. The sample questions and
answers are not intended to demonstrate the length of the actual test, nor should student
responses be used as an indicator of student performance on the actual test. Additional
information about test items can be found in the FCAT Test Item Specifications at:
http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatis01.asp
Although work was under way to either revise current standards or adopt the K–12
Common Core curriculum standards, no decisions were made at the time FCAT 2.0 Reading
tests and sample questions and answers were developed. For this reason, the 2011 FCAT
2.0 Reading tests and sample questions and answers are based on the 2007 Next
Generation Sunshine State Standards.
Directions for Answering the Reading Sample Questions
Mark your answers on the Sample Answer Sheet located on page 15. If you don’t
understand a question, just ask your teacher to explain it to you. Your teacher has the
answers to the sample questions.
The sample questions for students and the sample answers for teachers will only be
available online at: http://fcat.fldoe.org.fcatmpl.asp
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SAMPLE 9
FCAT 2.0 Reading Sample Questions
Read the article “The Night Hunters” before answering Numbers 1 through 10.
The Night Hunters
They’re an amazing bunch. One is known as the “Tiger of the
Skies,” another can catch a mouse on a barn floor in total darkness,
and the call of a third is often imitated by turkey hunters trying to
locate an elusive gobbler. They’re Pennsylvania’s owls—night hunters
par excellence.
Predators without peer, owls are splendidly adapted to life in the
darkness. Fringes on the leading and trailing edges of the outer flight
feathers act as mufflers, and long, soft “hairs” on the upper wing
surfaces eliminate noises that would be caused by feathers rubbing
against one another while the wings are in use. The result is silent
flight, ensuring that hapless victims will not detect the sky-borne
raider, and that the owl can better hear prey movements.
While some owls have “ear tufts” and others do not, all have
incredible hearing ability. These tufts are merely display feathers—the
real ears are located behind the eyes on the sides of the head and
covered by feathers of the facial disk.
When an owl hears a noise, it is able to pinpoint its direction
because the sound does not strike both ears at precisely the same
time. The owl turns its head until the sound registers in both ears
simultaneously; it then knows dinner is directly in front of it. An owl
can detect left/right sound differences as small as 30 millionths of a
second.
Perhaps the most obvious features of owl anatomy are the eyes,
which account for up to five percent of the bird’s body weight
depending on species. The forward-facing position of the eyes lends
the owl its “wise” appearance, but more importantly, it affords the
bird binocular vision, which allows it to judge distances as humans do.
Eyes of owls are so large they cannot move, and the bird must
move its entire head to change its field of view. However, the bird
makes up for this deficiency with the ability to turn its head up to 270
degrees in either direction (but not, as some rumors insist, in a full
circle). The large retina of an owl’s eye makes it extremely efficient
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By Rob Criswell
at sighting moving objects in dim light. In spite of this ability, owls can
also see well during daylight hours, and are not blinded by strong light as
some believe.
There are approximately 215 species of owls worldwide. They are
divided into two families— the Tytonidae, which includes barn owls and
their close relatives, and the Strigidae, which includes the great horned
owl and all other species.
Great Horned Owl
In 1890, ornithologist Ernest Thompson Seton expressed his opinion
of the great horned owl: “their untamed ferocity . . . ; their
magnificent bearing; their objection to carrion¹ and strictly carnivorous
tastes—would make me rank these winged tigers among the most
pronounced and savage of the birds of prey.”
Great Horned Owl
¹carrion: the flesh of dead animals
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Its prowess as a predator has made this bird one of the most maligned
and despised in our state’s history. Long blamed for decimating game
populations, it has survived bounties and habitat destruction and remains
an important part of our bird fauna today. Although game species appear
in its diet, the great horned prefers smaller mammals and is the only
predator that regularly dines on skunks. It is fearless, though, and will
sometimes attack mink, woodchucks, domestic cats, and even porcupines.
At 18–25 inches in height and up to three pounds, it is our largest owl.
It is easily recognized by its size and “horns”—two-inchlong ear tufts. It is a
habitat generalist, occupying deep forest and open areas alike. It generally
lays its eggs from January to early March, utilizing the nests of raptors,
crows, herons, and on rare occasions even eagles.
The great horned is the classic “hoot owl.” Its call is a mellow “hoo,
hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo.”
Screech Owl
At 7–10 inches, the screech owl is the smallest of Pennsylvania’s
resident owls bearing ear tufts. This bird comes in two phases—red and
gray, and a nest may contain all young of either color, or one or more of
both. This phenomenon, known as “dichromatism,” is exhibited regardless
of sex or age.
Screech owls reside in many different habitat types, including
woodlands, old orchards, parks, and even tree-lined streets. It is a cavity
nester, utilizing natural holes in trees, nests excavated by woodpeckers,
and even deeper crevices. They sometimes take advantage of artificial
boxes erected for woodpeckers, kestrels, and wood ducks.
This owl is a strictly nocturnal hunter. Its 22-inch wingspan allows it to
hunt swiftly over fields and other openings, catching large insects, small
birds, mice, voles, and other small mammals. In some areas, screech owls
even feed on crayfish regularly.
Roger Tory Peterson described the screech owl’s call as “a mournful
whinny, or wail.” Interestingly, the bird practically never utters a sound
that can be described as a “screech.” The most frequent call is a tremulous
series of notes that descend the musical scale.
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Long-Eared Owl
The long-eared is our most mysterious owl. Its secretive habits, silence,
and apparently low numbers make it extremely difficult to study. During
the seven-year Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas Project, this bird was
confirmed nesting at only six locations during the period 1983–89.
This owl is midway in size between the screech and great horned, and
grows to 16 inches and 10–11 ounces, with a 40-inch wingspan. Its “ears”
appear to be more closely spaced than the other two species and its wings
longer, allowing it to glide and hover while hunting and to maneuver easily
in brushy habitat. Its diet consists mainly of small mammals, one report
noting that “probably close to 80 or 90 percent consists of injurious
rodents.”
Long-eared owls occur in mixed woodlands and pine plantations with
fields nearby. They nest in early spring, usurping vacant hawk and crow
nests. During daylight hours, they remain “frozen” on a branch close to a
tree trunk, and in winter months colonial roosts are sometimes used.
On the rare occasions when it vocalizes, the long-eared emits a low,
musical “hoo-hoohoo” that may sound like the cooing of a mourning dove.
Barred Owl
The barred owl may be the turkey hunter’s best friend. Frequently its
call, described as “Who cooks for you; who cooks for you-all?” evokes a
response from a nearby gobbler during the spring. Hunters imitate the
call, which is sometimes heard during daylight hours, while attempting to
locate their quarry at sunrise.
This bird is easily distinguished from our other owls by its large size—to
17–24 inches and two pounds, with a 44-inch wingspan, rounded head,
and brown eyes.
Barred owls prefer moist woods and bottomlands in larger forested
tracts, and although this type of habitat has been dramatically reduced
over much of the state, these birds are still fairly common. This owl is a
cavity nester, and because of its size, at least some mature trees are a
necessary component of its territory.
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Barn Owl
Where it occurs, the barn owl may be considered
the “farmer’s best friend,” dining from a menu
consisting almost exclusively of voles, shrews, mice,
and rats. One study concluded that, during nighttime
hours, adult barn owls with nestlings decimated
rodents at the rate of one every four minutes. With
ears asymmetrically placed to provide hearing even
more acute than many of its relatives, locating and
catching its prey in total darkness is “business as
usual” for this nocturnal raider.
Also known as “monkey-faced owl,” “white owl,”
and “golden owl,” this bird is easily identified by its
light color and white, heart-shaped face. It grows 14–
20 inches and weighs less than two pounds.
Barn owls nest in man-made structures— barns,
silos, abandoned buildings, churches, and nest boxes,
and occasionally in hollow trees and caves. Their
domain must include grasslands and agricultural fields
and provide plenty of rodents. In a classic example of
prey controlling the predator, barn owl nesting
initiations and successes have been linked to
increases in vole populations.
Barn Owl
“The Night Hunters” by Robert W. Criswell, reprinted by permission of the author. All rights reserved.
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FCAT 2.0 Reading Sample Questions
Now answer Numbers 1 through 10 on your Sample Answer Sheet on page 15. Base your answers on the article “The
Night Hunters.”
1. The purpose of the opening paragraph of the article is most likely to
A. caution readers about a predatory group of birds.
B. arouse readers’ interest in a unique group of birds.
C. pose an issue to readers that the article will address.
D. encourage readers’ efforts to preserve threatened species.
2. Read these sentences from the article.
Predators without peer, owls are splendidly adapted to life in the darkness.
***
Its prowess as a predator has made this bird one of the most maligned and despised in our state’s history.
Which literary technique does the author use in these sentences?
F. imagery, portraying owls as skillful predators
G. personification, assigning to owls the human trait of adapting
H. hyperbole, exaggerating the status of owls among their predators
I. alliteration, repeating a sound to emphasize the superiority of owls
3. According to the article, what is one result of owls’ eyes being fixed in their sockets?
A. frequent head movement
B. enhanced binocular vision
C. lower overall body weight
D. greater distance perception
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4. In the article, the term dichromatism is used to describe two
F.
G.
H.
I.
species of owls.
colors of a species.
ages between phases.
sexes within a family.
5. Based on information from the article, which owl would be most affected by a decline in the population of rodents?
A. barn owl
B. barred owl
C. screech owl
D. great horned owl
6. Which statement best describes the typical nesting behavior of all the owls featured in the article?
F. They construct their nests in open fields.
G. They evict birds and take over their nests.
H. They utilize natural cavities in trees for nesting.
I.
They find nesting places rather than construct them.
7. According to the article, all of the following contribute to the owl’s effectiveness as a predator EXCEPT
A. its ability to see well even in dim light.
B. its ability to mimic the calls of other species.
C. its ability to fly without making much noise.
D. its ability to detect and locate the slightest sounds.
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8. According to the article, which of the owls’ names is the most misleading?
F. the screech owl’s, because its call rarely approximates a screech
G. the barn owl’s, because its domain must include fields and grasslands
H. the great horned owl’s, because its horns are actually feathered ear tufts
I.
the long-eared owl’s, because its real ears are behind its eyes and covered by feathers
9. Which of the following best describes the organization of this article?
A. information presented in chronological order
B. information presented in order of its importance
C. general information followed by facts specific to each species
D. descriptive information followed by an explanation of the nesting habits of five species
10. According to the article, which two owls are most different in size?
F. long-eared owl and barn owl
G. screech owl and long-eared owl
H. great horned owl and barred owl
I.
screech owl and great horned owl
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Read the article “American Odyssey” before answering Numbers 11 through 18.
American
Odyssey
Lewis and Clark’s trek west
still inspires travelers
200 years later
BY DAYTON DUNCAN
From the dramatic bluffs of Cape
Disappointment on the Washington
coast, the vista was quite the opposite of
disappointing. As far as my eyes could see,
out to the farthest western horizon, the
rolling swells of the Pacific Ocean marched
toward me, whitecaps flashing in the sun,
only to crash into sparkling foam on the
rocks far below my perch. If I were looking
for a spot that states “Continent Ends
Here” with utmost finality, this would be
it. And I couldn’t help repeating out loud
William Clark’s most famous journal entry
from his epic expedition with Meriwether
Lewis: “Ocian in view! O! the joy.”
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2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading Sample Questions
This historic statue, located
in Charlottesville, Virginia,
commemorates the 1803–
1806 journey of Lewis,
Clark, and Sacagawea.
16
For two months I had been retracing Lewis
and Clark’s historic route from the mouth
of the Missouri River, near St. Louis, to the
mouth of the Columbia, at Fort Canby State
Park. I had spent some time in canoes and
barges on those two mighty rivers, and I had
ventured occasionally on horseback and on foot
into the forbidding mountains that separate
them. But my main means of travel had been
my sister’s aging Volkswagen camper. I had
named it Discovery, in honor of the two
captains and their Corps of Discovery, the first
U.S. citizens to cross the continent and reach
the Pacific by land.
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My car (and the passage of nearly 200 years) had
made my journey both faster and easier than theirs.
For much of their journey west—as they fought the
Missouri’s relentless current for its entire 2,400-mile
length, then trudged through the snowy Bitterroot
Mountains—Lewis and Clark would have defined
substantial progress as making 12 miles a day. Shooting
down the Snake and Columbia Rivers in their dugout
canoes for the final stretch must have seemed like
hyperdrive, although in fact it only increased their
speed to 30 to 40 miles per day. No wonder it took
them a year and a half to reach Cape Disappointment.
Without exceeding any speed limits, and allowing
plenty of time for unhurried stops and side trips, my
Volkswagen camper covered the same distance in 60
days.
new sights, learned new things as I rounded each
bend. And like them, I had finally reached the spot
where that trail could go west no farther.
Needless to say, I also hadn’t suffered any of the
hardships the Corps of Discovery routinely faced:
backbreaking toil, loss of a comrade to illness,
encounters with enraged grizzlies, near-starvation in
the ordeal across the Bitterroots, demoralizing coastal
rains that rotted the clothes on their backs, and so
much more. Compared with their experience crossing
the continent, mine was a summer vacation. They had
been making history; I was merely retracing it.
Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery were
the first to truly comprehend that central fact of our
national being. In November 1805, as they prepared
to make their winter camp near the Pacific coast, they
understood—as no other Americans at the time
could—just how big, how rugged, how
mindbogglingly varied this country really is. They
understood because they had crossed it at a pace of
12 miles a day.
Yet, on that sunlit afternoon as I stood mesmerized
by the rolling breakers below, I felt a kinship with the
explorers. Like them, I had chased one sunset after
another, moving steadily west across a constantly
changing, perpetually awe-inspiring landscape. Like
them, along the way I had encountered new people,
seen
The Lewis and Clark expedition is significant in
many ways—for science, geography, ethnology, the
politics of empire; for providing (through their
journals) an unparalleled description of the West at
the dawn of the 19th century; for offering enduring
lessons in bravery, perseverance, and the success that
comes from working together; for leaving behind
what the historian Bernard DeVoto
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2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading Sample Questions
Standing at the coast, I could share in their sense
of satisfaction. (“Great joy in camp,” Clark had
written, deploying his always surprising choices of
spelling. “We are in View of the Ocian, this great
Pacific Octean which we [have] been So long anxious
to See, and the roreing or noise made by the waves
brakeing on the rockey Shores . . . may be heard
distictly.”) But retracing their route had also
permitted me to share something that a mere
reading of their journals would never have revealed:
an indelible, visceral sense of the country’s sheer
largeness.
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recognized as “something simple and immortal—a
tableau of courage and endurance in clear light,
one of the world’s heroic stories that seem like
myths.”
In taking the nation’s first transcontinental “road
trip,” they set in motion what has become an
American tradition: a belief that the only way to really
get to know this country is to hit the road. These are
experiences unavailable to those who peer out of
airplane windows at 35,000 feet and idly wonder
what it must be like down there in all those seemingly
endless, open, empty spaces.
But equally significant is the journey itself. The
Corps of Discovery had crossed the continent and
survived, simultaneously learning how much more
difficult it was than Thomas Jefferson, its sponsor,
had imagined, yet proving nonetheless that it
could be done. For the rest of the 19th century,
Americans followed Lewis and Clark’s footsteps
west, taking the nation with them. Much of our
history, much of who we are as a people, for good
and for ill, is bound up in that larger journey.
During my own trip, I attended a Memorial Day
service in South Dakota at the grave of Sitting Bull,
where descendants of warriors who had defeated the
U.S. Army at Little Bighorn saluted the American flag,
sang Native American chants to the beat of a drum,
and spoke proudly of their service. In North Dakota, I
slept in an earth lodge and tasted raw buffalo liver
with a Mandan-Hidatsa Indian who has become a
lifelong friend. In Helena, Montana, I met an old man
who turned out to be Fry Pan Jack, the King of the
Hoboes. In Idaho, I relaxed in the same natural hot
springs that had comforted Lewis and Clark. And in
Oregon, I spent an unforgettable and solitary night in
the reconstruction of Fort Clatsop, the expedition’s
winter quarters, communing with the spirits of the
Corps of Discovery as I read their journals by
candlelight.
Today, we take for granted that the United
States reaches from sea to shining sea. We take for
granted, traveling as we do in jet planes, that
getting from one coast to the other is no big deal.
Lewis and Clark remind us otherwise.
When the expedition was originally conceived,
the United States ended at the Mississippi River.
Thanks to Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase, by the
time they set off from the Mississippi’s east bank
in 1804, the nation’s boundaries had been
stretched to the Rocky Mountains. The Southwest
and the Pacific coast were still claimed by others,
however, and there was nothing to indicate that
our nation would one day embrace it all. Lewis and
Clark’s arrival on the continent’s western coast
helped make possible what we now consider
inevitable.
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2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading Sample Questions
Since my first trip, I’ve retraced the Lewis and Clark
trail in its entirety three more times. And in the
course of two decades, not a year has gone by that I
haven’t revisited at least one segment of the route.
I’ve done it alone, with friends,
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with my family. With the expedition’s bicentennial
now beginning, I expect to do it more—always
traveling in the spirit of the Corps of Discovery, full
of curiosity and wonder, eager to learn the lessons
that only the road can teach. Whenever a jet
passes overhead, I look up and think that the
passengers inside don’t know what they’re missing.
And whenever I reach the Pacific coast, I still can’t
help exclaiming, “Ocian in view! O! the joy.”
“American Odyssey” by Dayton R. Duncan, reprinted by permission of the author. All rights reserved. Photograph: “EXPLORERS WITH NATIVE
AMERICAN GUIDE” Copyright © North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy. Map: Reprinted courtesy of the NOAA. All rights reserved.
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Now answer Numbers 11 through 18 on your Sample Answer Sheet on page 15. Base your answers on the article
“American Odyssey.”
11. In the article, the author’s purpose in describing his own trips was most likely to
A. verify Lewis and Clark’s legacy in the western United States.
B. illustrate the transformations since Lewis and Clark’s journey.
C. support the information documented in Lewis and Clark’s journals.
D. reflect on the experiences he had while retracing Lewis and Clark’s route.
12. According to the article, what most helped Lewis and Clark recognize the vastness of the West?
F. facing the hardships of raw wilderness
G. paddling upstream for thousands of miles
H. creating their own maps of the new territory
I.
progressing an average of twelve miles per day
13. Read this sentence from the article.
These are experiences unavailable to those who peer out of airplane
windows at 35,000 feet and idly wonder what it must be like down
there in all those seemingly endless, open, empty spaces.
Which of the following best restates the meaning of the sentence above?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The country appears small and rustic from far above.
Modern travel is boring compared to travel in the past.
Only land travel offers genuine understanding of scale.
Much of the country is uninhabited and without beauty.
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14. Which of the author’s experiences most likely generated emotions similar to those
Lewis and Clark had felt?
F. befriending interesting characters along the route
G. rereading the journals by candlelight at Fort Clatsop
H. observing the breadth of the country from an airplane
I.
sighting the Pacific Ocean from Cape Disappointment
15. The author learned many lessons while following Lewis and Clark’s route because he
A. traveled by land.
B. conducted careful research.
C. possessed a vivid imagination.
D. used the same types of transportation.
16. Read this sentence from the article.
As far as my eyes could see, out to the farthest western horizon, the rolling
swells of the Pacific Ocean marched toward me, whitecaps flashing in the
sun, only to crash into sparkling foam on the rocks far below my perch.
Which type of figurative language does the author use in this sentence?
F.
G.
H.
I.
hyperbole, exaggerating the intensity of the waves
symbolism, using the distant waves to represent an army
metaphor, comparing the waves to reflections of sunlight
personification, giving human characteristics to the waves
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17. The author includes quotations from Lewis and Clark’s journals most likely to show
A. the historic language the explorers used.
B. his familiarity with the sites described in the journals.
C. the difference between unexplored and modern landscapes.
D. similarities between his impressions and those of the explorers.
18. The author’s journey differed from Lewis and Clark’s journey in all of the following ways EXCEPT
F. its dangers.
G. its duration.
H. its difficulty.
I.
its destination.
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Grades 3-5
Appendix E
Appendix E: FCAT 2.0 READING PASSAGE RATING FORM
GRADES 3 - 10
Grade
Date
Reviewer’s Name (Print)
Please indicate the reading level and overall appropriateness of each passage; include explanations as requested.
Passage
Code
E-1
Is passage
reading level
appropriate
(Y/N)
If YES, is
level HI,
MED, L?
If NO, what is
the grade level,
including HI,
MED, L?
Is passage
appropriate
for the FCAT
2.0? (Y/N)
FCAT 2.0 Reading Test Item Specifications, Grades 3-5
If a passage is not appropriate, please explain why/
Use the space below to suggest how the passage might be made usable.
23
Florida Department of Education
FCAT 2.0 Reading - Grades 3 & 4
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 3
NGSSS
Benchmark
LA.3.1.6.3
LA.3.1.6.8
LA.3.1.6.9
LA.3.1.7.2
LA.3.1.7.3
LA.3.1.7.4
LA.3.1.7.5
LA.3.1.7.7
LA.3.2.1.2
LA.3.6.1.1
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Context Clues
Synonyms
Analyze words in text
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Author's Purpose
Chronological order, Conclusions/inferences; Relevant details
Cause and effect
Text structures/organizational patterns
Compare
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character development; Character point of view;
Plot development; Problem/resolution
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Locate, interpret, organize information; Text features
Reporting Category Point Total
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 4
Number of
Points
Possible
NGSSS
Benchmark
2
3
3
8
LA.4.1.6.3
LA.4.1.6.7
LA.4.1.6.8
2
8
3
1
2
16
LA.4.1.7.2
LA.4.1.7.3
LA.4.1.7.4
LA.4.1.7.7
12
LA.4.2.1.2
LA.4.2.1.7
LA.4.2.2.1
9
9
LA.4.6.1.1
12
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 1 of 9
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Context Clues
Base words
Antonyms; Synonyms
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Author's perspective; Author's purpose
Chronological order, Main idea; Relevant details
Cause and effect
Compare
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character point of view; Plot development; Problem/resolution
Descriptive language; Figurative language
Text Features
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Locate, interpret, organize information
Reporting Category Point Total
3
1
3
7
3
7
7
2
19
6
3
2
11
8
8
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 2 of 9
24
FCAT 2.0 Reading - Grades 5 & 6
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 6
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 5
NGSSS
Benchmark
LA.5.1.6.3
LA.5.1.6.8
LA.5.1.6.9
LA.5.1.7.2
LA.5.1.7.3
LA.5.1.7.4
LA.5.1.7.7
LA.5.2.1.2
LA.5.2.1.7
LA.3.6.1.1
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Context Clues
Synonyms
Analyze words in text; Multiple meanings
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Author's perspective; Author's purpose
Main idea; Relevant details
Cause and effect
Compare
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character development; Character point of view;
Plot development; Problem/resolution
Descriptive language
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Locate, interpret, organize information
Reporting Category Point Total
NGSSS
Benchmark
2
4
2
8
LA.6.1.6.8
LA.6.1.7.3
3
8
5
1
17
LA.6.1.7.4
LA.6.1.7.5
LA.6.1.7.7
11
LA.6.2.1.2
1
12
LA.6.2.1.7
8
8
LA.6.6.1.1
LA.6.6.2.2
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 3 of 9
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Analyze words/phrases; Word relationships
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Conclusions/inferences; Main idea; Relevant details;
Summary Statement
Cause and effect
Text structures/organizational patterns
Compare; Contrast
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character development; Character point of view; Conflict;
Plot development; Theme
Figurative language
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Text features
Determine the validity and reliability of information;
Synthesize information
Reporting Category Point Total
8
8
11
2
1
3
17
11
1
12
4
4
8
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 4 of 9
25
FCAT 2.0 Reading - Grades 7 & 8
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 8
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 7
NGSSS
Benchmark
LA.7.1.6.3
LA.7.1.6.8
LA.7.1.6.9
LA.7.1.7.2
LA.7.1.7.3
LA.7.1.7.4
LA.7.1.7.7
LA.7.2.1.2
LA.7.2.1.7
LA.7.6.1.1
LA.7.6.2.2
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Context Clues
Analyze words/phrases; Word relationships
Multiple meanings
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Author's purpose; Author's perspective
Conclusions/inferences; Main idea
Cause and effect
Compare; Contrast
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character development; Character point of view; Conflict
Descriptive language; Figurative language
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Text features
Analyze and evaluate information; Determine the validity and
reliability of information
Reporting Category Point Total
NGSSS
Benchmark
LA.8.1.6.3
LA.8.1.6.8
LA.8.1.6.9
1
6
1
8
LA.8.1.7.2
5
7
3
2
17
LA.8.1.7.3
LA.8.1.7.4
LA.8.1.7.5
LA.8.1.7.7
9
2
11
LA.8.2.1.2
LA.8.2.1.7
3
6
LA.8.6.1.1
9
LA.8.6.2.2
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 5 of 9
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Context Clues
Analyze words/phrases; Word relationships
Multiple meanings
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Author's purpose
Conclusions/inferences; Main idea; Relevant details;
Summary statement
Cause and effect
Text structure/organizational patterns
Compare
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character development; Character point of view; Theme
Descriptive language; Figurative language
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Text features
Analyze and evaluate information; Determine the validity and
reliability of information
Reporting Category Point Total
3
3
2
8
1
12
1
1
1
16
8
5
13
4
4
8
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 6 of 9
26
FCAT 2.0 Reading – Grades 9 & 10
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 9 of
this report.
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 10
2011 FCAT 2.0 Reading
Grade 9
NGSSS
Benchmark
LA.910.1.6.3
LA.910.1.6.8
LA.910.1.7.2
LA.910.1.7.3
LA.910.1.7.4
LA.910.1.7.5
LA.910.1.7.7
LA.910.2.1.5
LA.910.2.1.7
LA.910.6.1.1
LA.910.6.2.2
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Context clues
Analyze words/phrases
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Author's perspective; Author's purpose
Main idea; Relevant details
Cause and effect
Text structures/organizational patterns
Compare; Contrast
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character point of view; Theme
Figurative language
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Text features
Analyze and evaluate information; Determine the validity and
relliability of information; Synthesize information
Reporting Category Point Total
Number of
Points
Possible
NGSSS
Benchmark
7
2
9
LA.910.1.6.3
LA.910.1.6.8
LA.910.1.6.9
2
5
2
1
2
12
LA.910.1.7.2
LA.910.1.7.3
LA.910.1.7.4
LA.910.1.7.5
LA.910.1.7.7
7
4
11
LA.910.2.1.5
LA.910.2.1.7
1
LA.910.6.1.1
12
LA.910.6.2.2
13
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 7 of 9
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Context Clues
Analyze words/phrases
Multilple meanings
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Author's purpose
Conclusions/inferences; Main idea; Relevant details
Cause and effect
Text structure/organizational patterns
Compare; Contrast
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Character development; Plot development
Descriptive language; Figurative language
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Informational Text/Research Process
Text features
Analyze and evaluate information; Determine the validity and
reliability of information; Synthesize information
Reporting Category Point Total
5
2
1
8
1
9
1
1
2
14
2
9
11
1
11
12
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 8 of 9
27
FCAT 2.0 Content Focus
What is content focus?
“Content focus” is a term that defines the specific content measured by each 2011 FCAT 2.0 test item.
The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) benchmarks and content foci assessed on
the 2011 FCAT 2.0 Assessment are not predictive of future FCAT 2.0 content.
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. Some reporting categories have too few test items to report reliable or meaningful scores at the
student level. While well-intended, providing remedial instruction in a specific reporting category may not
be justified and may be an inefficient use of instructional time. Content focus data should not be used as
sole indicators to determine remedial needs of students.
When interpreting content focus data, the following precautions and information should also be considered:
•The number of items in a reporting category may vary from one year to another. Consequently,
users should not compare performance data such as mean percent correct.
•The number of items in a reporting category will vary by grade level. Consequently, users should not
compare content area scores across grade levels.
•The difficulty of the items measuring each benchmark will vary from one year to the next.
Consequently, users should not compare content area scores across years.
•The analysis is based on state-level data that are not intended to provide specific classroom, school,
or district interpretations.
•Scale score values cannot accurately be determined using Content Focus Reports for a number of
reasons. For instance, test scores are generated from students’ performance on the entirety of the
test, which accounts for the difficulty (also called cognitive complexity) of test items.
28
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 9 of 9
SAMPLE:
FCAT 2.0 Student Report
29
Length of Texts
Grade Range of Number of Average Number of
Words per Text
Words per Text
3
100-700
500 Previously 350
4
100-900
500 Previously 400
5
200-1000
600 Previously 450
6
200-1100
700 Previously 500
7
300-1100
700 Previously 600
8
300-1200
700 Previously 700
9
300-1400
900 Previously 800
10
300-1700
1000 Previously 900
30
Types of Reading Text
Grade
Literary Text
Informational
Text
3
4
5
60%
50%
50%
40%
50%
50%
6
7
50%
40%
50%
60%
8
40%
60%
9
30%
70%
10
30%
70%
31
32
FCAT 2.0 Types of Reading Texts
Types of Literary Text
Types of Informational Text
Fiction
•Short Stories
•Poetry
•Historical fiction
DBQs
•Fables
make these
•Folk tales, tall tales
types of texts
•Legends
accessible and
•Myths
relevant to
•Fantasy
students
•Drama
•Excerpts from longer works
Primary Sources/Nonfiction
•Historical documents (e.g., Bill of Rights)
•Essays (e.g., informational, persuasive,
analytical, historical scientific)
•Letters, journals, diaries
Nonfiction
•Biographical & autobiographical sketches
•Diaries, memoirs, journals & letters
•Essays (personal and classical narratives)
•Critiques
Functional Materials
•Consumer documents (e.g., warranties,
manuals, contracts, applications)
•How-to articles
•Brochures, flyers
•Schedules
•Web pages
Secondary Sources/Nonfiction
•Magazine articles
•Newspaper articles
•Editorials
•Encyclopedia articles
33
Comparing Old/New Standards
FCAT Math Reporting Categories
SSS 1996
SSS 2007
Number Sense
Number: Operations
and Problems &
Statistics
Geometry &
Measurement
Expressions, Equations
and Functions
Statistics & Probability
Geometry
Measurement
Data Analysis
Probability
34
FCAT 2.0 Math Reporting Categories
Grades
3
Number: Operations,
Problems, and Statistics
50%
Geometry and
Measurement
30%
Number: Fractions
20%
4
Number: Operations
and Problems
45%
Geometry and
Measurement
30%
Number: Base Ten and
Fractions
25%
5
Number: Base Ten and
Fractions
50%
Geometry and
Measurement
30%
Expressions, Equations,
and Statistics
20%
6
Fractions, Ratios/
Proportional
Relationships, and
Statistics
40%
Expressions and
Equations
40%
Geometry and
Measurement
20%
7
Geometry and
Measurement
30%
8
Expressions, Equations,
and Functions
40%
Ratios/Proportional
Relationships
25%
Number: Base Ten
25%
Geometry and
Measurement
35%
Number: Operations,
Problems, and Statistics
25%
35
Statistics and
Probability
20%
Grade (s)
Low
Complexity
Moderate Complexity
High Complexity
3-4
25-35%
50-70%
5-15%
5
10-20%
55-75%
10-20%
6-8
10-20%
60-80%
10-20%
Algebra 1
EOC
10-20%
60-80%
10-20%
Geometry
EOC
10-20%
60-80%
10-20%
36
Moderate Complexity :
Skills required to respond correctly to moderate complexity
items include:
Low Complexity:
Skills required to respond correctly to low
complexity items include :
•Recall or recognize a fact, term, or property.
•Identify appropriate units or tools for common
measurements.
•Compute a sum, difference, product, or quotient.
•Recognize or determine an equivalent representation.
•Calculate the value of an expression, given specific
values for the variables.
•Solve a one-step problem.
•Retrieve information from a graph, table, or figure.
•Perform a single-unit conversion (e.g., feet to inches).
•Solve a problem requiring multiple operations.
•Solve a problem involving multiple transformations of a figure or spatial
visualization or reasoning.
•Retrieve information from a graph, table, or figure and use it to solve a
problem.
•Compare figures or statements.
•Determine a reasonable estimate.
•Extend an algebraic or geometric pattern.
•Explain steps of a solution process.
•Translate and solve a routine problem, given data and conditions.
•Represent a situation mathematically in more than one way.
High Complexity:
Skills required to respond correctly to high complexity items
include:
•Solve real-world problems using multiple steps and multiple decision points.
•Describe how different representations can be used for different purposes.
•Solve a non-routine problem (as determined by grade-level
appropriateness).
•Analyze similarities and differences between procedures and concepts.
•Generalize an algebraic or geometric pattern.
•Formulate an original problem, given a situation.
•Solve a problem in more than one way.
•Provide a mathematical explanation and/or justification to a problem.
•Describe, compare, and contrast solution methods.
•Formulate a mathematical model for a complex situation.
•Analyze or produce a deductive argument.
37
FCAT 2.0
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
Grade 4
FCAT 2.0 Mathematics Sample Questions
The intent of these booklets is to orient teachers and students to the types of questions on FCAT 2.0 tests. By using these
materials, students will become familiar with the types of items and response formats that they will see on the actual test.
The sample questions and answers are not intended to demonstrate the length of the actual test, nor should student
responses be used as an indicator of student performance on the actual test. Additional information about test items can be
found in the FCAT Test Item Specifications at: http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatis01.asp
The 2011 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics tests and sample questions and answers are based on the 2007 Next Generation Sunshine
State Standards.
Directions for Answering the Mathematics Sample Questions
Some of the questions in this booklet are called multiple-choice questions. A multiple-choice question is followed by several
answer choices. Read all the answer choices under each question and decide which answer is correct. Fill in the bubble next
to the answer choice you think is correct for each multiple-choice question.
Mark your answers in this booklet. If you don’t know how to work a problem, ask your teacher to explain it to you. Your
teacher has the answers to the sample questions.
The sample questions for students and the sample answers for teachers will only be available online at:
http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatsmpl.asp
Calculators are NOT to be used with the Grade 4 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics Sample Questions.
FCAT 2.0 Mathematics will include perforated rulers for students in Grades 3 and 4. You will need a ruler to answer some of
these sample questions. A sample ruler and directions for using the ruler are provided on the inside BACK cover of this
booklet.
Note: The dimensions for the graphics on items that require the use of a ruler may not be accurate if this Web-based page is
printed on a desktop printer because the printer may shrink content to fit the page; however, during the production of test
booklets, the Florida Department of Education takes quality assurance steps to ensure the dimensions and scale are accurate
in the items that require the student to use a ruler to measure.
Instructions for printing sample documents are provided on the inside BACK cover of this booklet.
38
FCAT 2.0 Math - Grades 3 & 4
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 7 of
this report.
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 7 of
this report.
2011 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics
Grade 4
2011 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics
Grade 3
NGSSS
Benchmark
Content Focus
Number of
Points
Possible
Reporting Category 1. Number: Operations, Problems, and Statistics
MA.3.A.1.1
Array; Repeated addition
MA.3.A.1.2
Commutative property; Identity property
MA.3.A.1.3
Multiplicative inverse
MA.3.A.4.1
Numeric patterns; Relations/functions
Adding/subtracting whole numbers; Comparing and ordering
MA.3.A.6.1
whole numbers; Estimating sums/difference
MA.3.A.6.2
Nonroutine problems; Tables/charts
MA.3.S.7.1
Bar graphs; Pictographs
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Number: Fractions
MA.3.A.2.1
Representing fractions; Representing mixed numbers
MA.3.A.2.3
Comparing fractions; Ordering fractions
MA.3.A.2.4
Equivalent fractions
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Geometry and Measurement
MA.3.G.3.1
Attributes of polygons; Naming polygons
MA.3.G.3.2
Composing polygons; Decomposing polygons
MA.3.G.3.3
Reflections; Symmetry
MA.3.G.5.1
Calculating perimeter; Measuring perimeter
MA.3.G.5.2
Customary measurement; Metric measurement
MA.3.G.5.3
Elapsed time; Time
Reporting Category Point Total
NGSSS
Benchmark
MA.4.A.1.2
MA.4.A.4.1
MA.4.A.4.2
MA.4.A.4.3
MA.4.A.6.1
MA.4.A.6.2
MA.4.A.6.4
MA.4.A.6.6
3
3
2
2
3
3
5
21
MA.4.A.2.3
3
4
3
10
MA.4.A.2.4
MA.4.A.6.3
MA.4.A.6.5
2
2
3
2
2
2
13
MA.4.G.3.1
MA.4.G.3.2
MA.4.G.3.3
MA.4.G.5.1
MA.4.G.5.2
MA.4.G.5.3
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 1 of 7
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Number: Operations and Problems
Multi-digit multiplication; Partial products
Graphic patterns; Numeric patterns
Relations/functions; Translating equations
Translating expressions
Adding/subtracting whole numbers; Place value of whole numbers
Modeling division; Partitioning
Identifying factors; Identifying multiples
Estimating products; Estimating ranges of numbers
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Number: Base Ten Fractions
Converting decimals to fractions; Converting fractions to decimals;
identifying fractions
Comparing and ordering decimals; Comparing and ordering
fractions and decimals; Estimatin using benchmark fractions
Equivalent fractions; Simplyfying fractions
Converting fractions to percents; Converting percents to fractions
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Geometry and Measurement
Area on a grid
Justifying area formula
Calculating area; Measuring area
Classifying angles; Identifying benchmark angles
Reflections; Rotations
Identifying a three-dimensional figure; identifying a twodimensional representation
Reporting Category Point Total
4
2
2
1
2
2
2
2
17
3
3
3
2
11
2
2
2
2
2
2
12
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 2 of 7
39
FCAT 2.0 Math - Grades 5 & 6
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 7 of
this report.
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 7 of
this report.
2011 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics
Grade 5
NGSSS
Benchmark
MA.5.A.1.1
MA.5.A.1.4
MA.5.A.2.1
MA.5.A.2.2
MA.5.A.2.4
MA.5.A.6.3
MA.5.A.6.4
MA.5.A.6.5
MA.5.A.4.1
MA.5.A.6.2
MA.5.S.7.1
MA.5.S.7.2
MA.5.G.3.1
MA.5.G.3.2
MA.5.G.5.1
MA.5.G.5.2
MA.5.G.5.3
MA.5.G.5.4
2011 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics
Grade 6
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Number: Base Ten and Fractions
Distributive property; Division algorithm; Place value
Division estimate; One-digit divisors; Interpreting division solutions
Decimal subtraction model; Fraction addition model
Decimal combination of operations; Fraction addition;
Fraction/mixed number combination of operations
Composite numbers; Prime numbers
Identifying integers; integers
Comparing integers; Graphing integers
Guess, check, and revise; Patterns/relationships
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Expressions, Equations, and Statistics
Properties of equality; Solving one-variable equations;
Translating/solving equations
Exponents; Order of operations
Analyzing double bar graphs; Analyzing line graphs
Continuous data; Discrete data
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Geometry and Measurement
Faces/vertices of prisms; Faces/edges/vertices of pyramids
Prism surface area; Prism volume
identifying coordinates; Plotting points
Converting customary length; Converting time
Appropriate units; Precision of measurement
Trapezoid area; Triangle area
Reporting Category Point Total
NGSSS
Benchmark
3
5
2
Content Focus
Number of
Points Possible
Reporting Category 1. Fractions, Ratios/Proportional Relationships, and Statistics
MA.6.A.1.1
Fraction multiplication; Mixed number multiplication
2
MA.6.A.1.3
Decimal division; Decimal multiplication; Fraction division
3
MA.6.A.2.1
Solving rate by division; Solving rate by multiplication
2
MA.6.A.2.2
Comparing rates; Translating ratios
2
Fractions/percents
MA.6.A.5.1
2
Ordering decimlas
MA.6.A.5.2
1
Fraction estimate
MA.6.A.5.3
1
Mean; Mode
MA.6.S.6.1
3
Finding data given mean; Measures of central tendency
MA.6.A.6.2
2
comparisons
Reporting Category Point Total
18
Reporting Category 2. Expressions and Equations
Evaluating one-variable expressions; Evaluating two-variable
MA.6.A.3.1
6
expressions; Translating expressions; Working backwards
MA.6.A.3.2
Solving equations; Solving inequalities; Translating equations
6
MA.6.A.3.5
Commutative property; Distributive property
2
MA.6.A.3.6
Identifying equations; Linear functions; Rate of change
3
Reporting Category Point Total
17
Reporting Category 3. Geometry and Measurement
MA.6.G.4.1
Circle area; Circumference; Diameter/radius
3
MA.6.G.4.2
Composite figure area; Composite figure perimeter
3
MA.6.G.4.3
Missing dimension trapezoid area; Triangle area; Volume
3
Reporting Category Point Total
9
3
2
2
2
3
22
3
2
3
2
10
3
3
2
2
2
2
14
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 3 of 7
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
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40
FCAT 2.0 Math – Grades 7 & 8
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 7 of
this report.
Note: There are limitations in the use of these reports. To understand their use, please
read "How should use of Content Focus Reports be limited?" provided on page 7 of
this report.
2011 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics
Grade 7
NGSSS
Benchmark
MA.7.A.3.1
MA.7.A.3.2
MA.7.A.3.3
MA.7.A.3.4
MA.7.A.5.1
MA.7.A.1.1
MA.7.A.1.2
MA.7.A.1.3
MA.7.A.1.5
MA.7.A.1.6
MA.7.G.2.1
MA.7.G.2.2
MA.7.G.4.1
MA.7.G.4.2
MA.7.G.4.3
MA.7.G.4.4
MA.7.P.7.1
MA.7.P.7.2
MA.7.S.6.1
MA.7.S.6.2
2011 FCAT 2.0 Mathematics
Grade 8
Number of
Points
Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Number: Base Ten
Absolute value; Effects of operations
Decimal computation; Fractional computation
Solving equations; Two-step equations; Working backwards
Distributive property; Properties of equality
Repeating decimals; Terminating decimals
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Ratios/Proportional Relationships
Proportional relationships; Solving proportions
Discount; Sales tax
Similar figures; Similarity
Direct variation
Average/constant speed; Scale drawing
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Geometry and Measurement
Surface area prism/pyramid; Volume/surface area; Volume
cone/cylinder
Volume of composite shapes;
Change in perimeter; Change in volume
Transformations; Translations
Coordinate identification
Converting length; Converting metric units
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 4. Statistics and Probability
Likelihood of an event
Theoretical probability
Reasonableness of a sample
Circle graphs; Stem-and-leaf plots
Reporting Category Point Total
NGSSS
Benchmark
2
2
3
2
2
11
MA.8.A.6.1
MA.8.A.6.2
MA.8.A.6.4
MA.8.S.3.1
MA.8.S.3.2
3
2
2
2
3
12
MA.8.A.1.1
MA.8.A.1.2
MA.8.A.1.3
MA.8.A.1.5
MA.8.A.1.6
MA.8.A.4.1
MA.8.A.4.2
3
2
2
2
2
2
13
MA.8.G.2.1
MA.8.G.2.2
MA.8.G.2.3
MA.8.G.2.4
MA.8.G.5.1
2
2
1
3
8
Number of
Points Possible
Content Focus
Reporting Category 1. Vocabulary
Scientific notation
Radicals
Effects of operations; Exponents
Box-and-whisker plots; Scatter plots
Interpretation of data; Median; Mean
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 2. Reading Application
Domain and/or range; Interpreting tables/graphs
Identifying x-intercept; Identifying y-intercept; interpreting slope
Coordinate identifying; System of equations
Graphs/linear functions; Tables/linear functions
Graphs of nonlinear functions; Interpreting relations
Literal equations
One-variable inequalities; Solving inequalities
Reporting Category Point Total
Reporting Category 3. Literary Analysis: Fiction and Nonfiction
Similar triangles; Similarity
Complementary angles, Parallel lines cut by a transversal;
Supplementary angles
Sum of angles in polygons; Sum of angles in triangle
Pythagorean theorem
Converting between systems; Converting capacity; Converting
rates
Reporting Category Point Total
3
1
2
3
3
12
3
4
3
2
2
2
3
19
4
4
3
3
3
17
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 6 of 7
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
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41
FCAT 2.0 Content Focus
What is content focus?
“Content focus” is a term that defines the specific content measured by each 2011 FCAT 2.0 test item.
The Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) benchmarks and content foci assessed on
the 2011 FCAT 2.0 Assessment are not predictive of future FCAT 2.0 content.
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. Some reporting categories have too few test items to report reliable or meaningful scores at the
student level. While well-intended, providing remedial instruction in a specific reporting category may not
be justified and may be an inefficient use of instructional time. Content focus data should not be used as
sole indicators to determine remedial needs of students.
When interpreting content focus data, the following precautions and information should also be considered:
•The number of items in a reporting category may vary from one year to another. Consequently,
users should not compare performance data such as mean percent correct.
•The number of items in a reporting category will vary by grade level. Consequently, users should not
compare content area scores across grade levels.
•The difficulty of the items measuring each benchmark will vary from one year to the next.
Consequently, users should not compare content area scores across years.
•The analysis is based on state-level data that are not intended to provide specific classroom, school,
or district interpretations.
•Scale score values cannot accurately be determined using Content Focus Reports for a number of
reasons. For instance, test scores are generated from students’ performance on the entirety of the
test, which accounts for the difficulty (also called cognitive complexity) of test items.
42
© June 2011 FDOE/ARM - Assessment
Page 7 of 7
FCAT 2.0
Understanding Cognitive Complexity
on the Test for all Content Areas
Students must now demonstrate Critical Thinking 75%100% on test items meaning moderate to high levels
of complexity.
Instruction in the classroom should match the level of
complexity that has been given in each benchmark.
43
Cognitive Complexity, continued
• When classifying an item’s demands on thinking (i.e., what the
item requires the student to recall, understand, analyze, and
do), it is assumed that the student is familiar with the basic
concepts of the task.
• Items are chosen for the FCAT based on the Standards and
their grade-level appropriateness, but the complexity of the
items remains independent of the particular curriculum a
student has experienced.
• On any given assessment, the cognitive complexity of a
multiple-choice item may be affected by the distractors
(incorrect answer options).
• The cognitive complexity at one grade may not be as complex
at a subsequent grade.
44
Cognitive Complexity…Bloom-vs-Webb
• Cognitive complexity refers to the cognitive demand
associated with an item.
• In the early years of the FCAT program, the DOE used
Bloom’s Taxonomy to classify test items; however, Bloom’s
Taxonomy is difficult to use because it requires an
inference about the skill, knowledge, and background of
the students responding to the item.
• Beginning in 2004, the DOE implemented a new cognitive
classification system based on Dr. Norman L. Webb’s
Depth of Knowledge (DOK) levels.
• The rationale for classifying an item by its DOK level of
complexity focuses on the expectations made of the item,
not on the ability of the student.
45
46
Webb’s Levels of Cognitive Complexity
 Low Complexity relies on the recall, observe, question, or
represent basic facts. Requires only basic understanding of the
text. (Solving a one step problem)
 Moderate Complexity involves two steps: comprehension and
subsequent processing of text. Requires explanation,
description, or interpretation. (Solving a two step problem)
 High Complexity requires students to engage in more abstract
reasoning, planning, analysis, synthesis, judgment, and creative
thinking. Requires explanation, generalizations, or multiple
connections. Must be able to support thinking.
47
48
Plan for Success on FCAT 2.0
•
•
•
•
•
•
Know your Course Standards
Understand Webb’s Cognitive Complexity
Study Item Specifications for appropriate Rigor
Follow Focus-Calendars (on curriculum website)
Teach explicit and systematic mini-lessons
Use the Gradual Release Model/I Do-You Do/We Do/Teacher
Student 20-80 Rule
• Plan relevant lessons with DOK-Essential Questions
• Make extra time & practice available
• Let Benchmark Assessments guide adjustment in teaching and
learning
49
What are the relationships of the
NGSS, FCAT 2.0 and Common Core
Standards?
• NGSS and Common Core are both based on
Webbs’s Depth of Knowledge extending a
student’s demonstration of Critical Thinking
• FCAT 2.0 includes exclusively the NGSS with
Critical Thinking
• They both focus on Cognitive Complexity,
Complex Text, and Critical Thinking
50
What are the relationships of the NGSS, FCAT 2.0 and
Common Core Standards? continued
• They both focus on using the text to establish
background knowledge, details from the story
• They both use text based questioning literal
and inferential
• They both cause the teacher to be explicit and
detailed in questioning using Webb to build text
based knowledge building, text based
vocabulary and a preponderance to use
information in text to support an answer
51
Given that CCSS are based upon the science of
reading instruction, schools will need to:
1. Pay even greater attention to the research about the reading
instruction.
2. Continue monitoring student learning.
3. Deepen professional development through the lesson study process for
teachers and principals.
4. Refine the use of core materials along with increasing the rigor of
supportive instruction.
5. The instructional priorities that have been in place to teach reading
skills need to continue as they clearly are emphasized in the CCSS with
a renewed focus on students having the ability to complete close
reading and re-reading of complex texts.
~Stuart Greenberg, Executive Director, Just Read, Florida! and the Office of Early Learning
Florida Department of Education
52
Transition to Next Generation and Computer-Based Tests in Florida
Computer-Based Tests: Grades and subjects which are optional by school in CBT or PBT are shown in bold, italic; full CBT administrations except
for accommodations are shown in green, bold, italic, underlined.
2010-11
FCAT
FCAT 2.0
End-of-Course
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
Science (5, 8, 11)
Writing (4, 8, 10)
Reading Retakes (fall,
spring)
Mathematics (10)
Mathematics Retakes
(fall, spring)
Writing (4, 8, 10)
Reading Retakes (fall,
spring)
Mathematics Retakes
(fall, spring)
Mathematics Retakes
(fall, spring)
Reading (3-10) (B)
Mathematics (3-8) (B)
Science (5, 8) (FT;
embedded in FCAT)
Reading (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10) (SS)
Reading Retake (fall,
spring)
Mathematics (3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8) (SS)
Science (5, 8) (B)
Reading (3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10)
Reading Retake (fall,
spring)
Mathematics (3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8)
Science (5, 8) (SS)
Writing (4, 8, 10)
Reading (3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10)
Reading Retake (fall,
spring)
Mathematics (3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8)
Science (5, 8)
Writing (4, 8, 10)
Reading Retake
(fall, spring)
Science (5, 8)
Algebra 1 (B)
Geometry (FT; sampled
high schools)
Biology 1 (FT; sampled
high schools)
Algebra 1 (SS)
Geometry (B)
Biology 1 (B)
US History (FT;
sampled high schools)
Algebra 1
Geometry (SS)
Biology 1 (SS)
US History (B)
Civics (FT; sampled
middle schools)
Algebra 1
Geometry
Biology 1
US History (SS)
Civics (B)
Biology 1
US History
Civics (SS)
English/Lang Arts (311) (FT; sampled
schools)
Mathematics (3-8)
(FT; sampled schools)
HS Math EOCs (3
subjects TBD) (FT;
sampled schools)
English/Lang Arts
(3-11) (B)
Mathematics (3-8)
(B)
HS Math EOCs (3
subjects TBD) (B)
Common Core
Assessments
PARCC
Florida Department of Education/ARM
Design and development funded by RTT Assessment Grant;
In conjunction with 23 other states
53
Updated: July 22, 1022
Florida’s Common Core State Standards
Implementation Timeline
Year/Grade Level
K
1
2
3-8
9-12
2011-2012
F L
L
L
L
L
2012-2013
F L
F L
L
L
L
2013-2014
F L
F L
F L
B L
B L
F L
F L
F L
F L
F L
CCSS fully implemented
2014-2015
CCSS fully implemented
and assessed
F – full implementation of CCSS for all content areas
L - full implementation of content area literacy standards including: (1) text
complexity, quality and range in all grades (K-12), and (2) CCSS Literacy Standards in
History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects (6-12)
B – blended instruction of CCSS with Next54Generation Sunshine State Standards
(NGSSS); last year of NGSSS assessed on FCAT 2.0
Things to Remember
• Perfect Book Study/PLC – FCAT 2.0 – Test Item
Specs – cover to cover!
• Test preparation vs. test practice
• Teach deeply to the standards
• Use Focus Calendars aligned to standards
• Stay away from test practice books that do not align
with the specifications of FCAT 2.0
• Routinely read 500 or greater word passages and
ask critical thinking (Webbs) questions
• Use Sample FCAT Items to help students become
familiar with FCAT 2.0 questions in different formats
• Rigor & Complexity Matter!!
55
Resources to support use of the standards,
benchmarks and Common Core Standards
•
CPALMS – http://floridastandards.org
o
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Refer to K-3 Formative Assessments (Math Only)
Just Read, Florida!
o LEaRN Videos
o Empowering Teachers Routines
Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR)
FCAT Lessons Learned
FCAT Explorer
Focus Achieves
Florida Assessments in Reading
www.fldoe.org
All educator-related material can be accessed here:
http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatpub2.asp
Sample test books are posted at the website:
http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcat2/fcatitem.asp
FCAT 2.0 Test Item Specifications are here:
http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcat2/itemspecs.asp
Today’s presentation can be accessed on the Learning Zones page of the District’s Intranet
website.
56
Up, Up and Away
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
We could float among the stars together, you and I
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
Suspended under a twilight canopy
We'll search the clouds for a star to guide us
If by some chance you find yourself loving me
We'll find a cloud to hide us
We'll keep the moon beside us
Love is waiting there in my beautiful balloon
Way up in the air in my beautiful balloon
If you'll hold my hand we'll chase your dream across the sky
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
Balloon...
Up, up, and away...
~The Fifth Dimension
57
“CHILDREN MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE
PERSON WHO BELIEVES IN THEM.
IT COULD BE A COUNSELOR, A TEACHER, A
PREACHER, A FRIEND.
IT COULD BE YOU.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN A LITTLE LOVE, A
LITTLE SUPPORT, WILL PLANT A SMALL
SEED OF HOPE.”
~Marian Wright Edelman
“The Measure of Our Success”
58