FCAT Reading Performance Tasks

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FCAT Reading Performance Tasks

• Compiled by Dr. Wetzel
• January 27, 2009

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LESSONS LEARNED(Based on a presentation by
Lyla Springfield, FDOE Test Development Center)

• Students should . . .
• Read the entire question and know what is being
  asked. Then plan answers.
• Know that multiple part tasks require multi-part
  answers. Students should read details or effects
  as meaning more than one.

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JUST THE FACTS!

• Students should not express their own opinions or
  background knowledge.
• Students should be taught to go back to the text
  for evidence or support.
• Students should include text-based details that
  answer the question.

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FCAT Writing vs. FCAT Reading

• Students need to know
• The purpose of the FCAT Reading Test is to see if
  students understand a piece of text.
• No intro., body, or conclusion is needed
• Information in the box should pertain to the
  question.
• No extraneous info. or opinions are wanted.

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Do students comprehend?

• Students should
• Avoid summarizing the plot or content or
  retelling (unless asked to do so).
• For the reading test, avoid lists
• Do not use diagrams or organizers to show the
  answer but you can do some planning in the
  margins or blank space.

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Paraphrasing is Needed

• Students should . . .
• Pull evidence directly from the text
• Paraphrase the answers as much as possible.
• Complete copying does not demonstrate
  comprehension at the highest level

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What about the box?

• Students should
• Avoid using three-four lines to restate the
  question
• Dont write below, up the side, or outside of the
  box
• Short response is 8 lines
• Extended response is 14 lines

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How many lines do you want?

• Students
• Should stop writing when the question has been
  answered.
• Students do not have to fill up the entire box,
  but should use as many lines as it takes to give
  a complete and detailed answer that stays on
  topic.

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Practice is NeededBased on recommendations
from the 2007 Lessons Learned FCAT Task Force

• Students need to be taught
• To read the question carefully and not assume
  they know what is being asked.
• To break the question into parts
• To use context clues
• To go back to the text for support

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Practice is Needed

• Students need to be taught
• How to paraphrase
• To recognize persuasion and supporting evidence
• To determine a strong argument and the support
  that makes it strong
• To use graphics to locate information in the
  article

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Language of the Test

• Students need to be familiar with
• Test signal words such as different,
  distinguish, significant, important, and unique
  and how these words indicate what kind of
  information is sought among all the details
• The term supporting details and what that means
  in performance tasks
• Words such as event, evidence, trait, demonstrate
  and illustrate

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Middle School Reading FCAT

• 8th graders only have extended response
• Typically 4 items that require either short (2
  pts.) or extended response (4 pts.) based on a
  reading selection
• 2005 statewide less than 30 made max. points
• Written responses require the same reading skill
  as the other questions
• but . . .

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Sample 2 pt. Task Questions

• Why does Ma avoid telling the quilting ladies the
  story behind her nickname? Support your answer
  with details and information from the poem.
• Required inference skill
• 34 of the students earned 0 points

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More question samples 2 pts.

• What was the weather like on the Outer Banks of
  North Carolina the night of October 11, 1896, and
  why did it make a rescue difficult? Include
  details from the article to support your answer.
• Required understanding cause and effect
  gathering details from several places in the text
• 64 earned 1 pt.

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2pts.

• Describe how Nolan Ryan demonstrated his sense of
  responsibility. Use details and information from
  the article to support your answer.
• Requires knowledge of character
  traits/development and ability to determine
  validity of authors viewpoint.
• 63 of the students earned only 1 pt.

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4 pt. Task

• Describe how the animals of the Kalahari react to
  the researchers. Use details and information
  from the passage to support your answers.
• Tested Cause and Effect
• Discovering info. from text
• 17 earned 4 pts.
• 22 earned 3 pts.
• 32 earned 2 pts.
• 20 earned 1 pt.

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FCAT Subtest Reference and Research

• Determine between a strong and weak argument
• Which of the following quotes from the article
  support the idea that the Antarctic seas were far
  more dangerous than anyone could have expected?
• (The 2006 7th grade test had six of these kinds
  of questions)

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Reference and Research

• Choose a statement that provides the best
  evidence that an event was significant.
• Which fact from the article provides the best
  evidence that the discovery of Watson Brake was
  significant?

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Reference and Research

• Check validity of information
• Which sentence from the article offers the best
  evidence that Nola Ryan was a skillful pitcher?
• Determine a statement that provides evidence of
  the authors point of view.
• Why do the researchers conclude that their
  encounter was the most rewarding?

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More Reference and Research

• Answer a question based on map reading skills
• Identify the least accurate statement
• Locate and synthesize indirectly stated
  information within the text
• Draw conclusions/inferences
• Locate and interpret information

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Take the Steps NOW

• Use literature books for stories/articles and
  sample FCAT tasks to provide practice
• Formulate questions that require synthesizing
  information and drawing conclusions from the text
• Give students practice in labeling or identifying
  evidence in the text for their answers in every
  content area!

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Reading Across Content

• Encourage the research process identify the
  question, locating sources, what those sources
  are called.
• Teach note-taking in terms of answering a
  research question.
• Review fact/opinion, discuss authors point of
  view, purpose, arguments, support, and teach
  validity of Internet sources.
• Integrate map and graph reading skills

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Percent of Questions

• Reading 4, 8, 10
• MC 85 90
• ER SR 10- 15
• Reading 3, 5, 6, 7 9
• MC 100
• Extended Response
• Do not have to fill in the space completely
• Short-Response

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Practice, practice, practice

• Using these question formats on all regular
  activities and assessments will help students
  become accustomed to responding in the same way
  as they will be asked to respond on the FCAT!

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FCAT Cognitive Levels

• Level I
• Knowledge
• Comprehension
• Application (familiar settings)
• Application (unfamiliar settings)
• Level II
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Evaluation Blooms

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Cognitive Tasks Levels

• Reading 4, 5 6
• Level I 50
• Level II 50
• Reading 7 8
• Level I 40
• Level II 60

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Text Type on FCAT Reading

• Grade 6
• Literary Text 50
• Informational Text 50
• Grade 7
• Literary Text 40
• Informational Text 60
• Grade 8
• Literary Text 40
• Informational Text 60

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Practice, practice, practice

• Use the FCAT rubrics to score papers, reports,
  test questions, projects etc.
• Students will develop a clear understanding of
  the levels of performance expected of them on
  FCAT
• FCAT test items and performance tasks are
  developed with the intent of incorporating the
  thinking and problem-solving abilities embodied
  in the standards.

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Suggestions

• Use questions that require students to explain
  their answers.
• How are John in the story lttitlegt and the fish in
  the poem lttitlegt alike? Use details and
  information from both the story and the poem to
  explain your answer.
• What is the purpose of the paragraph (section,
  article, passage)? Use the facts or ideas from
  the article to support your answer.

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FCAT Preparation

• FCAT test questions use the content areas of the
  SSS Science, Social Studies, The Arts,
  School-to-Work, Health and Physical Education, as
  well as Language Arts and Mathematics.
• Students should be given opportunities to apply
  their reading in ALL content areas other than
  just traditional language arts contexts.

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FCAT Preparation

• After sixth grade, more than half of the text
  students are required to read and understand on
  the FCAT is information text (not literature).
• Use open-ended question formats that are similar
  to FCAT (ER, SR and gridded)
• Two formats used in Grade 8 (ER SR)

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Resources

• PowerPoint Handout entitled Performance Tasks
  Lessons We have Learned by Lyla Springfield, FDOE
  Test Development Center
• FCAT Reading Lessons Learned 2001-2005 Data
  Analyses and Instructional Implications, FDOE,
  2007
• 2005-07 Released FCAT Tests available at
  http//fcat.fldoe.org/fcatrelease.asp