FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
     
     
    S
      
    TATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
     
    F. PHILIP HANDY,
    Chairman
     
    T. WILLARD FAIR,
    Vice Chairman
     
     
    Members
     
     
    LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.
     
    CHARLES PATRICK GARCÍA
     
    JULIA L. JOHNSON
     
    WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D.
      
     
    LINDA K. TAYLOR
     
     
    John L. Winn
    Commissioner of Education
     
      
     
     
    October 7, 2004
      
    Dear Florida Teachers:
      
    Practice Makes Progress!
     
      
    We are pleased to announce the continued availability of the FCAT Explorer. This online reading and
    math practice program is free for all public school students, teachers, and administrators and can be used
    in the classroom, at home, or at the library—wherever there is a computer with Internet access. Given
    the recent hurricane impact on our programs, FCAT Explorer is an even more valuable tool for
    supporting your ongoing classroom instruction.
      
    FCAT Explorer is an innovative, Web-based, instructional support tool derived from Florida’s Sunshine
    State Standards. FCAT Explorer programs provide students with explicit practice and learning guidance
    for the reading and math benchmarks tested on the FCAT.
      
    All FCAT Explorer student programs provide skills practice; instructional feedback for both correct and
    incorrect answers; an engaging, colorful interface; and student performance reports correlated to the
    Sunshine State Standards. Each program also includes tools for educators and helpful resources for
    parents and mentors.
      
    The content for practice questions is drawn from the full range of the standards in the subject areas
    including science, social studies, and the arts. After every practice question, students receive immediate
    instructional feedback. The feedback lets students know right away why an answer choice was right or
    wrong.
      
    For students preparing to take the 3
    rd
    -grade or 10
    th
    -grade FCAT, the FCAT Explorer offers additional
    instructional support.
    Galactic Library (3
    rd
    Grade Benchmarks)
    f
    eatures an instructional model that
    adjusts the level of instructional support according to a student’s score on the practice questions.
    Reading Timeline (10
    th
    Grade Benchmarks)
    offers eight in-depth lessons on important skills that
    students will need for success in the regular, FCAT-like practice program.
    JIM WARFORD
    K-12 CHANCELLOR
     
    325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0509 • www.fldoe.org
     
     
    Letter to Florida Teachers
    October 7, 2004
    Page Two
     
     
    In addition to the student programs, FCAT Explorer includes the Classroom Teacher’s Desk, a useful
    administrative site for teachers. At the Classroom Teacher’s Desk, teachers can
    •
    look up and print student sign-in names and passwords
    •
    enroll new students in the FCAT Explorer
    •
    access printer-friendly versions of the math and reading practice questions and reading passages
    •
    run easy-to-use, detailed reports of student performance on the practice programs
    •
    send personalized messages to students
    •
    print a flier to parents to send home with students.
      
    Public school students and teachers in your district already have individual sign-in names and passwords
    for accessing the complete menu of FCAT Explorer programs. A secure sign-in name and password
    allows a student’s benchmarks-based performance data to be tracked and reported to teachers. To find
    out your sign-in name and password, please contact your FCAT Explorer School Administrator. If you
    don’t know who your School Administrator is, follow these four simple steps:
    •
    Go to www.fcatexplorer.com.
    •
    On the home page, click the
    News & Information
    link.
    •
    Scroll to the list of
    Currently Enrolled Districts & School Administrator Records
    and click your
    school district.
    •
    Click your school to find the name of your FCAT Explorer School Administrator.
    If one has not been designated, call the FCAT Explorer Support Team toll-free at 1-888-750-3228 to
    get your sign-in name and password.
      
    I encourage you to use the innovative resources of FCAT Explorer in conjunction with your ongoing
    classroom instruction. To learn more about the FCAT Explorer practice programs and instructional
    support features, please go to www.fcatexplorer.com or review the attached flier.
      
    Sincerely,
      
     
     
    Jim Warford
    K-12 Chancellor
      
    Attachment:
    FCAT Explorer: Practice Makes Progress!
     
     
    cc: District Superintendents
    All Florida Principals
     
     
     
     
      

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