Educational Solutions

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Educational Solutions

• An Overview of FCAT Writing

Grades 3 - 10
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Educational Solutionsfor Florida Teachers

Volume 1 An Overview of FCAT Writing Grades
3-10
Kathy Lancaster, Ph.D.
2005
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Technical assistance for teaching and learning
across the curriculum can result in positive
measurable outcomes.
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FCAT Writing is a performance assessment
of Florida students compositional skills and
their ability to apply knowledge of standard
written conventions of the English language.
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• A previous edition of the test, FCAT Writing, was
  comprised of a writing task that required
  students to develop a composition using the
  writing process.
• FCAT Writing retains the composition portion of
  the previous version and adds a multiple choice
  component to assess student levels of
  understanding of focus, organization, support,
  and conventions.

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FCAT Writing

• Consists of a performance task (demand writing)
  and multiple choice items, each portion weighed
  equally for a combined score
• 2007-2008 - Grade 10 students receive
  achievement level scores that count for
  graduation
• 2010 - First graduating class with FCAT Writing
  Passing Requirement
• designates first class to meet FCAT Writing
  graduation requirement

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FCAT Writing

• 3 grade levels tested - 4th, 8th, and 10th

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FCAT Writing

• 2 types of writing prompts at each grade level

• 4th narrative or expository prompts
• 8th persuasive or expository prompts
• 10th persuasive or expository prompts

• Multiple choice items at each grade level

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• Multiple choice items are based on Webbs Depth
  of Knowledge Model of Cognitive Classification.

• Cognitive complexity assumes student familiarity
  with the task and therefore focuses on the
  thinking demand posed by the item, not the
  students demonstration of mastery.

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• 3 Cognitive Complexity Levels
• for FCAT Writing
• Low Complexity Items Recall
• Moderate Complexity Items Basic Reasoning
• High Complexity Items Extended Reasoning

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• Low Complexity Items Recall
• Examples
• categorizing information
• inserting end punctuation
• adding an s to change from the singular to the
  plural form

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Low Complexity - Example

• Based on the information in Lisas writing plan,
  under which heading below should Lisa add little
  sister?

A. Where I went B. What I did C. What I
learned D. Who went with me Grade
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• Moderate Complexity Items
• Basic Reasoning
• Examples
• determining the relevance, placement, or quality
  of detail
• applying the purpose for writing to the task
• applying knowledge of conventions (beyond recall)

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• Moderate Complexity - Example
• Which sentence below helps support the topic of
  the fifth paragraph?
• A. I learned soccer rules two years ago.
• B. Moving to another city is probably fun.
• C. Saturday is my favorite day of the
  week.
• D. We were proud because we worked as a
  team.
  Grad
  e 4

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• High Complexity Items
• Extended Reasoning
• Examples
• evaluating the effectiveness of a written
  response according to audience and purpose
• developing a composition using the writing
  process
• analyzing and applying complex conventions

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• High Complexity - Example
• Writing Situation
• Everyone has done something that he
  or she will remember.
• Directions for Writing
• Think about a time you did something that you
  will always remember.
• Now write a story about the time you did
  something that you will always remember.
  
• Grade 4
• 
  

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• Writing Benchmarks Tested - Grade 4
• LA.B.1.2.1 The student prepares for writing by
  recording thoughts, focusing on a central idea,
  grouping related ideas, and identifying the
  purpose for writing.
• LA.B.1.2.2 The student drafts and revises writing
  in cursive that focuses on the topic has a
  logical organizational pattern . . . .
• LA.B.1.2.3 The student produces final documents
  that have been edited for conventions . . . .

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• Writing Benchmarks Tested - Grade 8
• LA.B.1.3.1 The student organizes information
  before writing according to the type and purpose
  of writing.
• LA.B.1.3.2 The student drafts and revises writing
  that is focused, purposeful, and reflects insight
  into the writing situation. . . .
• LA.B.1.3.3 The student produces final documents
  that have been edited for conventions . . . .

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• Writing Benchmarks Tested Grade 10
• LA.B.1.4.1 The student will select and use
  appropriate prewriting strategies, such as
  brainstorming, graphic organizers, and outlining.
  
• LA.B.1.4.2 The student will draft and revise
  writing that is focused, purposeful, and reflects
  insight into the writing situation . . . .
• LA.B.1.4.3 The student will produce final
  documents that have been edited for conventions
  . . . .

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• Helping students prepare for FCAT Writing

• Strategies for Teachers

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• Examine the benchmarks in view of the tested
  components of focus, organization, support, and
  conventions
• Teach basic writing conventions,
• Teach students to use a variety of writing plans/
  prewriting structures, and
• Teach students to write purposefully, making
  informed decisions about structure, content, word
  choice, and sentence structure.

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• Use mini-lessons to emphasize the writers craft
  such as leads and conclusions showing, not
  telling anecdotal details audience awareness
  sentence combining transitions.

• Teach simple transitions such as first, finally,
  on the other hand. Then teach the use of more
  sophisticated transitions such as while some
  people support this view, others disagree.

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• Teach writing as a process, stressing the
  revision and editing stages.
• Share examples of student writing from each of
  the score points and ask students to give
  suggestions for improving the essay.
• Familiarize students with the tasks involved in
  the testing situations provide time to rehearse
  test conditions.

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• And then, after the test . . .

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Celebrate with your students!
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• The information presented here meets with Florida
  DOE Test Development Center security regulations.
• Item specifications will be available for online
  review in December 2005.

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• Credits
• Photography Kathy Lancaster
• Models
• Brenda Armstrong Corey Bibb Jason
  Bibb Tony Bryant Jonnie Lancaster Tommy
  Lancaster Corey McKinney Maddie Richardson
  Mallory Richardson Morgan Richardson
• Educational Solutions Kathy Lancaster,
  Ph.D. KathyLancaster.com
• .