The Florida

StandardsAssessents:What Every

Parent Should Know

Beauclerc ElementaryLiteracy Night

February 5, 2015

• How does the new FSA (Florida Standards Assessment) differ from the FCAT?

• When will students in Florida take the FSA?

• Where can you find additional information?

• What resources are available for you to help prepare your child?

Questions Answered:

New Tests for New Standards

• The Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) will measure student mastery of the newly adopted Florida Standards through a variety of item types.

• The Florida Standards are more closely aligned with the educational standards used throughout the country, more commonly known as ‘Common Core’.

What is Different about the Florida Standards Assessments?

• Higher expectations • Able to compare FL students to others nationwide• Emphasizes analytical thinking• Variety of item question formats•Increased complexity of texts• Increased focus on providing evidence of their thinking

Implications for Our Students• 3rd Grade Promotional Requirements• Middle School Elective Course Scheduling • School Grade & Funding• Preparing students for higher paying jobs (College

and Career Ready)• Student, Parent & Teacher Pride

Florida Standards Assessment Test DesignEnglish Language Arts/Literacy

Text-based Writing

Writing Assessment CHANGES

OLD: Writing FCAT• Scored as a separate test• 4th Grade Students Only • Given a Topic (Prompt Writing)• 45 minutes to write a narrative (story) or expository essay

NEW: FSA Writing• Scored as part of the Reading Assessment• 4th and 5th Grade Students• Given 2 – 4 Articles (Text Sets) to Read & Respond to a Related Prompt• 120 minutes to read, annotate, and write an informative or opinion based essay• Must include references from the text & cite evidence to support their ideas

Reading Assessment CHANGES

OLD: Reading FCAT • Multiple Choice

NEW: FSA Reading

• Editing Task Items• Multiple Choice Items• Multi-select Items• Two-part Items• Hot Text Items• Open Response Items • Graphic Response Items (GRID)• Listening Items (Grade 5 only)

Text-based Writing Sample Prompt Write an essay in which you give your opinion about whether technology should be used all the time. Use information from the passages in your essay.

Manage your time carefully so that you can• read the passages;• plan your essay;• write your essay; and• revise and edit your essay.

Be sure to include• an introduction;• support for your opinion using information from the passages; and• a conclusion that is related to your opinion.

Your writing should be in the form of a well-organized multi-paragraph essay.

Editing Task Item

Text with a Series of Questions

Text with a Series of Questions

Audio Multiple-Choice Item

Multi-Select Items

Two-Part Items

Hot Text Items

Graphic Response Item (GRID)

Open Response Item

Florida Standards Assessment

Timeline&

Dates

General FSA Timeline

General Testing Timeline

Computer Based Resources:• Achieve 3000 • iReady

Where can students go for reading practice and reinforcement at home?

Informational ResourcesFlorida Department of Educationwww.fldoe.orgCPALMShttp://www.cpalms.org/Public/FLDOE Assessment Websitehttp://www.fldoe.org/asp/FSA Portalhttp://www.fassessments.org/Parent Guides to Student Successwww.pta.org/common_core_standards.asp

Improving Instruction Today;Preparing for Tomorrow