Writing Tests Are Set for This Week
By Donna Vavala, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.
Feb. 4–Bay County District Schools students and teachers are bracing for the upcoming FCAT tests. The writing test will be Tuesday through Friday, followed by the reading, math and science FCATs, which will be taken from Feb. 26 to March 9. Based on the Sunshine State Standards for curriculum, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, measures what students learn in Florida schools. On Tuesday, fourth-, eighth- and 10th-graders will take the writing test. Students in fourth grade will test Wednesday. “They will be taking a combination test,” said Jan Chapman, director of standards and assessments for the district. “There will be an essay portion and a multiple-choice portion. It will be a 45-minute session.” For the essay portion, Chapman said students and teachers are not informed in advance about which type of essay they will be asked to write. “It could be a narrative, or it could be an expository essay,” Chapman said. “Students need to be prepared to write any of them.” The test scores will be based on elements, such as topic awareness, central idea, use of transitional devices, development of details, logical ordering, spelling, and grammar and punctuation. Chapman said the tests will be scored on a point system that ranges from one to six. “The district considers proficiency on this test to be 3.5,” said Chapman. In 2006, Bay District fourthgraders scored 3.6 and eighth- and 10th-graders both scored 3.9. These scores were about one-tenth of a point higher than in 2005 and were right at or just below the state averages for each grade, she said. “Each year, we’re increasingly showing progress,” said Chapman, adding that the results of the FCATs will not be revealed until the end of the school year. Late starts On Tuesday, students in 9th, 11th and 12th grades will report at 11 a.m. at the following schools: A. Crawford Mosley, A.D. Harris, Bay, Deane Bozeman School (high school only), Haney Technical, J.R. Arnold and Rutherford high schools. Buses will pick up students for the delayed start four hours later than the regular bus pick-up time. Tenth-grade students should report to school at the regular starting times. Buses will run on regular schedules to pick them up. Also reporting to school on the regular schedule will be students at all elementary and middle schools, Emerald Bay Academy, New Horizons Learning Center and Shaw Adult School.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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