FCAT Science

FCAT Hand­book for Edu­ca­tors– Focuses on the role of Florida teach­ers and admin­is­tra­tors in every aspect of the FCAT.

http://fcat.fldoe.org/handbk/complete.pdf

FCAT Hand­book for Edu­ca­tors Table of Contents

1.0 Intro­duc­tion

2.0 Back­ground

3.0 Test Con­tent and Format

4.0 Test Devel­op­ment and Construction

5.0 Admin­is­ter­ing the FCAT

6.0 Scor­ing the Test

7.0 Report­ing FCAT Results

8.0 Glos­sary

9.0 Guide to Related Resources

FCAT Explorer– Link to Florida’s on-line assess­ment tool with ele­men­tary and sec­ondary test items sim­i­lar to the ques­tions on the FCAT test for read­ing and mathematics.

http://www.fcatexplorer.com/main_content.asp

FCAT Sam­ple Test Books and Answer Keys (2008–2009)

The FCATSam­ple Test Books and Answer Key Books were pro­duced to pre­pare stu­dents to take the test in math­e­mat­ics and read­ing (grades 3–10) and in sci­ence (grades 5, 8, and 10). The Sam­ple Test Books are designed to help stu­dents bcome famil­iar with FCAT by pro­vid­ing help­ful hints and offer­ing prac­tice answer­ing ques­tions in dif­fer­ent for­mats. The Sam­ple Answer Keys are designed to be used by teach­ers to explain to stu­dents the answers and solu­tions to the ques­tions in the Sam­ple Test Books and to iden­tify which Sun­shine State Stan­dards bench­mark is being tested by the question.

http://fcat.fldoe.org/fcatitem.asp

High Stakes Test­ing: Man­ag­ing Test Anx­i­etydevel­oped by Browarc County School Board, Florida.

http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/studentsupport/psychologicalservices/pdf/TestAnxiety.pdf

101 FCAT Tips

http://teachers.dadeschools.net/jenriquez/psms/documents/101FCATTIPS101FCATTIPS.pdf

Strate­gies for tak­ing FCAT prior to the test, dur­ing the test, and by sub­ject area. Devel­oped by Dade County School Board.

FCAT Scor­ing Rubrics- Link to the rubrics which are the scor­ing guide­lines or cri­te­ria used to eval­u­ate all FCAT Read­ing, Math­e­mat­ics, and Sci­ence per­for­mance tasks and FCAT Writ­ing essays. The rubric describes what is required for each pos­si­ble score point.

http://fcat.fldoe.org/rubrcpag.asp

http://www.sciencenotebooks.org/resources/ link to Sci­ence Note­books, a site ded­i­cated to explor­ing the use of sci­ence note­books, includ­ing visu­als of real sci­en­tists’ notebooks.

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/ link to Mid­dle School Sci­ence web­site, includ­ing activ­i­ties and inter­net resources.

http://www.sciencespot.net/index.html link to The Sci­ence Spot, a web­site geared for the mid­dle school level with lessons, activ­i­ties, and free resources.

http://www.nsrconline.org/ link to the National Sci­ence Resources Cen­ter, sup­ports and trains teach­ers in research based sci­ence edu­ca­tion includ­ing inquiry-based sci­ence teaching.

The Just Read, Florida! Web­site  - Link to Just Read, Florida! web­site pro­vides infor­ma­tion and activ­i­ties to improve read­ing skills and fos­ter a love of books in Florida’s Chil­dren. Visit this site to find:

* Cur­rent read­ing events

* The Par­ents Page, with at-home read­ing activ­i­ties, rec­om­mended read­ing lists, etc.

* Just Read, Fam­i­lies! Web­site - Link to Just Read, Fam­i­lies web­site a pro­gram facil­i­tat­ing read­ing for par­ents and children.