educational solutions an overview of fcat writing+ grades 3 - 10

Educational Solutions

An Overview of FCAT Writing+

Grades 3 - 10

Educational Solutionsfor Florida Teachers

Kathy Lancaster, Ph.D.2005

Volume 1: An Overview of FCAT Writing+ Grades 3-10


Technical assistance for teaching and

learning across the curriculum can result

in positive measurable outcomes.


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.

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.



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

FCAT Writing+


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

FCAT Writing+


2 types of writing prompts at each grade level

FCAT Writing+

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

Multiple choice items at each grade level

Educational SolutionsMultiple choice items are based on Webb’s 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 student’s

demonstration of mastery.

3 Cognitive Complexity Levels

for FCAT Writing+

• Low Complexity Items – Recall

• Moderate Complexity Items – Basic Reasoning

• High Complexity Items – Extended Reasoning



Low Complexity Items – Recall

Examples:

• categorizing information

• inserting end punctuation

• adding an –s to change from the singular to the plural form


Based on the information in Lisa’s writing plan, under which heading below should Lisa add “little sister”?

Low Complexity - Example

A. Where I wentB. What I didC. What I learnedD. Who went with me Grade 4

Educational SolutionsModerate 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)

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.

Grade 4



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

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


Educational Solutions 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] . . . .

Educational Solutions 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] . . . .

Educational Solutions 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] . . . .

Helping students prepare for FCAT Writing+


• Strategies for Teachers


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.


Use mini-lessons to emphasize the writer’s 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.

Educational Solutions 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.”

And then, after the test . . .


Celebrate with your students!



The information presented here meets with Florida DOE Test Development Center security regulations.

Item specifications will be available for online review in December 2005.

Educational SolutionsCredits• Photography Kathy Lancaster• Models

Brenda Armstrong Corey BibbJason Bibb Tony BryantJonnie Lancaster Tommy Lancaster Corey McKinney Maddie Richardson Mallory Richardson Morgan Richardson

Educational Solutions ~ Kathy Lancaster, Ph.D. ~ KathyLancaster.com.

educational solutions an overview of fcat writing+ grades 3 - 10

Documents

writing task

writing benchmarks

purpose of writing

writing situation

writing process

revise writing

th fcat writing

overview of fcat writing