Florida Standards Assessment PINECREST PREPARATORY ACADEMY 2015
The Florida Standards In February 2014, Florida State Board of Education approved a new set of state standards: Florida Standards in Mathematics Florida Standards in English Language Arts These standards were developed as part of a process of continuous improvement of our education system and to raise the bar for our schools, educators and students. For the 2014 2015 school year, all Florida schools have been teaching to these new Florida standards. Pinecrest Preparatory Academy has taken steps to ensure that our teachers have access to the latest instructional and assessment materials designed to effectively teach and assess students mastery of these new standards.
The Florida Standards Assessment FLDOE has contracted with the American Institutes of Research to develop and administer new statewide assessments designed to measure how well students are learning the new standards. Testing Plan: Grade Level FSA English Language Arts FSA Mathematics FSA Writing Component FCAT Science 3 rd 2 days/80 min 2 days/80 min N/A N/A 4 th 2 days/80 min 2 days/80 min 1 day/120 min N/A 5 th 2 days/80 min* 2 days/80 min* 1 day/120 min 2 days/80 min *indicates computer based assessment
The Florida Standards Testing Schedule: Grade Level Monday March 2 nd Monday March 16 th Tuesday March 17 th Wednesday April 1 st Thursday April 2 nd Monday April 13 th Tuesday April 14 th Wed. April 15 th Fri. 24 th 3 rd N/A FSA Read FSA Read FSA Math FSA Math N/A N/A N/A 4 th FSA Writing FSA Read FSA Read FSA Math FSA Math N/A N/A N/A 5 th FSA Writing N/A N/A N/A N/A FCAT Science Makeup days will be provided for each assessment on the school days that follow the scheduled administration FCAT Science Fifth Grade students will be taking the FSA Reading and Math components of the assessment on a computer in 2 sessions over 2 days. Students will be scheduled throughout the testing window from Wednesday, April 15 th to Friday, April 24 th FSA Read & Math
Types of items on the FSA The FSA is comprised of test items that include: Traditional four option multiple choice Items that require students to type or write a response Technology enhanced items (for 5 th grade only) that allow students to interact with test content to select, construct and/or support their answers Samples of these item types are available on the FSA portal at www.fsassessments.org
Test Training All students will be provided with an opportunity to become familiar with the system, functionality, and item types that will be encountered on the FSA. All students are required to participate in a training test session at school prior to testing. Teachers, parents and students can review the FSA computer based and paper based sample items and training tests online at: http://www.fsassessements.org/training-tests
Scoring and Reporting For the first administration, students will receive two performance indicators: a T score and a percentile rank. These indicators let us know how our students performed compared to all other students who took that same test. Achievement-level cut scores will be established based on the performance indicators and will range from Level 1 to Level 5. Level 3 indicates satisfactory performance.
Third Grade Requirements for Promotion As required by the statewide public school student progression law eliminating social promotion (Section 1008.25, Florida Statute), a student may be promoted to grade 4 if the student demonstrates reading mastery in one of several assessments: the Grade 3 Florida Standards Assessment (FSA); the Grade 3 Reading Student Portfolio; or another standardized reading assessment that has been approved by the FLDOE. The FSA will be scored and students will be issued a Level from 1 5. In order to demonstrate reading mastery a student must score a Level 2 or higher on this assessment. If a student does not demonstrate mastery on the Grade 3 Reading Students Portfolio and scores a Level 1 on the Reading FSA, the following additional opportunities to demonstrate reading mastery will be provided. The Alternative Standardized Reading Assessment administered the week of May 26 th June 5 th The Alternative Assessment for Grade 3 Promotion administered the last week of 2015 summer reading camp All students who have not demonstrated mastery based on one of the first 3 assessments administered will be given the opportunity to take the Alternative Assessment for Grade 3 Promotion and will be invited to attend the Summer Reading Camp provided by MDCPS.
What is PPA doing about the new FSA? Pinecrest teachers have participated in several professional development opportunities designed to ensure that the New Florida Standards are being taught and mastered by their students. Pinecrest Preparatory Academy has taken several steps to ensure that our teachers have access to the latest instructional and assessment materials designed to effectively teach and assess students mastery of these new standards. Students who have been identified as not meeting standards have been and will continue to be provided with research based reading interventions and their progress will be closely monitored.
What can you do to prepare? Visit the FSA website for the latest information about the FSA Assessment Closely monitor your child s academic progress and intervene early when necessary Maintain open lines of communication with your child s teacher Provide support and encouragement for your children to avoid any unnecessary stress
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