How to Use Third Grade Information
FCAT Student Results will be Provided to Schools Between May 5-9, 2003:
Informational Letter to Parents
•
This defines the technical assessment terms found in the Individual Student FCAT Report
and provides information about student’s annual academic progress based on their FCAT
scores in Reading and Mathematics.
Individual Student FCAT Report
Other FCAT Interpretive Materials:
(available in a separate shipment to districts and schools)
Understanding 2003 FCAT Reports
•
This booklet provides information about the FCAT student, district, and school reports
for the 2003 administration. Samples of reports, explanation about the reports, and a
glossary of technical terms are included. Distribution to districts is scheduled to coincide
with the delivery of student reports. The booklet may be downloaded from the
Department of Education web site at http://www.firn.edu/doe/sas/fcat.htm.
•
The third grade reading FCAT requires students to read stories that are about 350 words
long and correctly answer questions about what was understood. It also requires them to
be able to use charts, graphs, maps, and other materials to gather information and
correctly answer questions.
•
Students who score Level 1 may not be able to recognize or sound-out new words or
know the meaning of them. They would also have trouble answering questions that
identify a story's main idea, main characters, and the correct order of story events.
Chances are that these students can't correctly use information from charts, graphs, or
maps to answer specific questions.
Keys to Success on the 2003 FCAT, Grades 3-5
•
These booklets are distributed to districts each January and contain information for
parents and students preparing for FCAT Reading, Writing, and Mathematics. The 2003
publications are translated into Spanish and Haitian Creole and are available, along with
the Keys to FCAT in English, on the Department of Education Web site at
http://www.firn.edu/doe/sas/fcat.htm
•
Success on the Sunshine State Standards reading portion of the FCAT can best be
understood by using the Achievement Levels where a 3 or higher is on or above grade
level.
Requirements for the Student to Advance to the Fourth Grade:
•
FCAT Achievement Level 2 or above in reading
•
51% or higher score on the FCAT NRT or alternate SAT-9 assessment
•
Success as demonstrated in an approved third grade assessment portfolio
Requirements for a Student to be Retained in Third Grade:
•
FCAT Achievement Level 1 in reading
•
A score below 51% on the FCAT NRT or alternate SAT-9 assessment
•
Other evidence that shows the student cannot read at the third grade level
NOTE: Retention is not based on a single test score. Students who can qualify for the “good
cause exemption” can use another standardized test or a portfolio assessment of classroom work
to demonstrate the required level of reading proficiency and be promoted.
Additional Web Resources:
•
http://www.firn.edu/doe/sas/fcat.htm (teacher publications)
FCAT sample reading test materials and released items for third grade students.
•
http://www.fcatexplorer.org
(3
rd
grade module will be launched in June)
A special third grade module is being designed as a game that takes place in outer space. It is
an interactive web-based program specifically designed to help them expand their vocabulary
and provide reading activities.
•
http://www.Read-To-Learn.org
The Read to Learn Initiative comes through our Just Read, Florida! office, as directed by the
Governor. It addresses the needs of parents and students impacted by the new 2003 third grade
reading promotion and retention requirements.
•
http://www.justreadflorida.com/parents.asp
Suggestions for building reading skills.
•
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/reading_first2.html
A guide for parents helping preschool through Grade 3 students learn to read.
Section 1003.02(1)(a), Florida Statutes:
State law gives district school boards the authority to classify, promote, and graduate students.
Parental approval for such placement decisions is not required. However, parents should be
given an explanation of the information on which the decision was based, and schools should try
to enlist the parents' support for remediation efforts.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Retention does not mean that the student has failed or that the teacher is not working hard
enough. It means that the school has not yet found the way to bring the child far enough, and that
more time and different approaches are needed. Teachers and families can convey to children
that the purpose of retention is to give them more time and more help so they will succeed. If we
let children go further in school without teaching them to read, then
we
are failing them