Your Guide To Florida's Ever-Changing FCAT

Background

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test is the foundation upon which the “Florida model” of education reform was built, serving as the basis for school and district report cards. FCAT result will also comprise half of teacher evaluations once districts design their legislatively required merit pay systems.

Florida rolled out the standardized test in 1998, and in 2010 tested students on math, reading, writing and science. School and district grades are based on both student scores and their improvement on the test from previous years.

An updated version of the test, known as FCAT 2.0, began phasing out the original version in 2010. The new test will be given to students as young as 3rd grade, and increases the difficulty of the math, science and reading tests.

The updated test will eventually include end-of-course exams for Algebra, Biology, Civics, Geometry and U.S. History.

Critics have argued tying standardized tests, such as the FCAT, to teacher pay encourages teachers or districts to cut corners or cheat to achieve better schools. In 2011, Florida asked 14 districts to review FCAT test with a high number of similar answers.

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April 4, 2013

Education ‘Reform’ 101: How The Common Core Relates To Other Big Ideas Sweeping Florida Schools

“It’s the next big thing.” Jump to… Common Core Race to the Top No Child Left Behind Standardized Tests Accountability That’s a familiar refrain in K-12 education. And the latest big thing may be bigger than all the others: It’s the Common Core education standards that Florida and 45 other states are now putting in […]

March 26, 2013

Private Schools Should Accept Some Scrutiny Along With McKay Scholarships

Florida’s special education scholarship program needs more accountability, a school choice researcher argues, despite opposition from a coalition of schools which administer the scholarships. Last week the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools said a majority of their members would no longer participate in Florida’s scholarship program for students with disabilities if they were required to […]

March 22, 2013

Florida Private Schools Do Not Want FCAT Requirement For McKay Scholars

A coalition of private schools which accept publicly funded scholarships for students with disabilities says a majority of their members would no longer take the scholarships if they were required to administer the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. In a letter posted on the redefinED blog, the Coalition of McKay Scholarship Schools says their member survey […]

March 6, 2013

Why Hillsborough County Schools Add Extra Tests To The Schedule

The Hillsborough County school district website lists 38 different testing dates for high school students. They range from Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests and biology exams required to graduate high schools, to alternative tests for special needs students and personal fitness exams. Not every student has to take every test — those personal fitness exams, for […]

March 5, 2013

Bill Would Require School Districts Post Testing Schedule

A House committee unanimously approved a bill requiring school districts to post standardized testing schedules online. Districts are already required to post the schedule for state-mandated tests such as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. Schools districts would have to identify additional testing they’ve required. Rep. Manny Diaz, Jr, R-Hialeah, said districts would have to post […]

January 31, 2013

A Stroll Through The PARCC: More On Florida’s Next Standardized Test

Florida is one of about two dozen states developing a new standardized test as part of a switch to tougher new education standards. The test, called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or PARCC, is a computerized exam which will replace much of the current Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, as well […]

January 24, 2013

Five Takeaways On Florida’s Switch To New Academic Standards

Florida schools are in the midst of switching to new, tougher education standards adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia. Known as Common Core State Standards, educators say the new requirements will not only ask students what they know but require them to demonstrate how they know it. Wednesday night, St. Petersburg College […]

January 7, 2013

How Teachers Are Creating New Lessons For Common Core State Standards

Editor’s note: Reporter Martha Dalton with NPR affiliate WABE-FM in Atlanta contributed to this report. “The story was about a gingerbread man getting loose in the school.” Kindergarteners in Katherine Kenton’s class at Tallahassee’s Gilchrist Elementary School are learning to read using the new Common Core standards. The students have to show they understand what […]

December 24, 2012

Who’s Required To Take The FCAT?

Gov. Rick Scott says students receiving tax credit scholarships to private schools should be subject to the same regulations as other public school students. That would means taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or PARCC, the state’s next generation of standardized test which will replace FCAT. But it’s important to note that not every public […]

December 14, 2012

Is Gov. Scott’s Testing Proposal A Trojan Horse For Vouchers?

Teacher’s unions and critics of Florida’s various private school scholarship programs have long argued that students who received those scholarships should have to face the same scrutiny as public school students. That means taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test — or its upcoming successor — in order to make apples-to-apples comparisons between school performance. But […]