FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
John L. Winn
Commissioner of Education
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
F.
PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
OBERTO MARTÍNEZ
HOEBE RAULERSON
ATHLEEN SHANAHAN
INDA K. TAYLOR
T.
R
P
K
L
MEMORANDUM
TO:
District School Superintendents
FROM:
Hanna Skandera
Deputy Commissioner
Accountability, Research, and Measurement
Cornelia S. Orr, Ph.D.
Director
Assessment and School Performance
DATE:
August 25, 2006
SUBJECT:
2006-07 and 2007-08 Statewide Assessment Schedules
Thank you and all those in your district whose involvement resulted in the successful
implementation of the 2005-06 assessment program. As you are aware, we continue to gather
feedback after each assessment administration in order to improve the process. Many of you
have shared valuable suggestions, and we will continue to review and implement ideas that will
provide improvements in the future.
We are pleased to announce the 2007-08 assessment schedule and to reiterate the 2006-07
dates announced in a Department of Education (DOE) memorandum issued on
September 9, 2005. Attached to this memorandum, you will find the schedules for both the
2006-07 and 2007-08 school years. Please share this information with schools and community
groups in your district as soon as possible. We know that this information is important for your
planning; however, please recognize that factors over which the DOE has no control may
impact future testing schedules.
The DOE is committed to making every effort to administer the FCAT as late as possible in the
school year while not jeopardizing the reporting of results to districts prior to the end of the
school year. The 2006 Legislature amended Section 1001.42, F.S., to require that school
districts implement a student start date no earlier than fourteen (14) days prior to Labor Day,
beginning with the 2007-08 school year. The 2007-08 FCAT schedule is based on a school
HANNA SKANDERA
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
ACCOUNTABILITY, RESEARCH, AND MEASUREMENT
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 814 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0437 • www.fldoe.org
District School Superintendents
August 25, 2006
Page 2
start date no earlier than August 20, 2007. The first day of testing for the 2007-08 school year
also takes into consideration that there is a time change due to Daylight Savings Time
scheduled for Sunday, March 9, 2008, and a Presidential Primary in Florida statute scheduled
for March 11, 2008. Traditionally, the Fall and Summer FCAT retake administrations have been
scheduled with the intent of returning results to districts prior to Thanksgiving (Fall), and
returning materials for scoring prior to the week of July 4 (Summer). The 2007-08 schedule has
been designed to continue to meet those objectives.
The dates for the 2006-07 test administrations are shown below, and the dates for 2007-08 are
shown in parentheses.
•
Fall FCAT Reading and Mathematics Retake Tests – Districts have selected either the
week of September 25 – September 29, 2006, OR October 2 – October 6, 2006, for the
Fall 2006 FCAT Retake Administration. (2007-08 dates: September 24 - 28, 2007 OR
October 1 – October 5, 2007)
•
FCAT Writing+ Test – Grades 4, 8, and 10 students will participate in FCAT Writing+ on
February 6 and 7, 2007. Grade 4 will take the essay on the first day and the two
multiple-choice sessions on the second day; grades 8 and 10 will take all sessions on
the first day. (2007-08 dates: February 12 and 13, 2008)
•
FCAT SSS Reading, Mathematics, and Science Tests – All testing for grades 3 – 11 will
occur during the two-week testing period of February 26 – March 9, 2007. Make-up
tests and retakes are also administered during this time. (2007-08 dates: March 12 –
March 25, 2008)
•
FCAT Norm-Referenced Tests (NRT) – The NRTs are given during the same period,
February 26 – March 9, 2007, as the SSS tests. Districts may choose NRT
administration day(s) within this period that do not conflict with SSS testing. (2007-08
dates: March 12 – March 25, 2007)
•
Summer FCAT Reading and Mathematics Retake Tests – As with the Fall retake
opportunity, districts will select one of two weeks in June, either the week of June 18 –
22, 2007, OR the week of June 25 – 29, 2007. (2007-08 dates: June 16 - 20, 2008 OR
June 23 - 27, 2008)
•
High School Competency Test (HSCT) – While the future of the HSCT program is
uncertain, there are currently two future administrations planned, January 2-12, 2007,
and June 18-29, 2007.
The NAEP assessment will be administered to a sample of grades 4, 8, and 12 students
throughout the state. If schools in your district are selected for participation, you will be notified
of the schedule by the Florida NAEP Coordinator, Michele Sonnenfeld. NAEP assessments are
scheduled to occur in January and February, but will not conflict with FCAT administrations.
District School Superintendents
August 25, 2006
Page 3
If you have questions or concerns regarding testing schedules, please contact Victoria Ash,
Director of K-12 Assessment Administration, Office of Assessment and School Performance, at
850.245.0513 or SunCom 205.0513. Questions relating to NAEP should be directed to Michele
Sonnenfeld at 850.245.0787 or SunCom 205.0787. You may also reach them via email at
Victoria.Ash@fldoe.org or Michele.Sonnenfeld@fldoe.org, respectively.
cc: Assistant Superintendents for Instruction
District Coordinators of Assessment
District Coordinators of Accountability
Kris Ellington, Director, K-12 Assessment
Jackie Mueller, Program Director, K-12 Assessment Scoring and Reporting
