2008 FCAT Writing+ Results Announced - More Florida students are writing on grade level

TALLAHASSEE – According to the 2008 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Writing+ results released today, a greater percentage of Florida students are writing at or above grade level. The percent of students in grades 4, 8 and 10 scoring at or above Achievement Level 3 on the Writing+ exam increased over the previous year. In addition, the majority of Florida’s fourth-, eighth- and 10th-graders continue to score 3.5 and above on the essay portion of the exam.

“These results are evidence that the tremendous efforts of our teachers have a direct and positive impact on our children’s futures,” said Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith. “It is through their selfless commitment to student success that our state has been able to experience the phenomenal academic growth that we have seen in the last decade.”

This year’s results mirror Florida’s strong performance on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Writing assessment. Released in April, Florida’s NAEP results ranked the Sunshine State ninth in the nation for the number of eighth-grade students scoring Proficient and above; two places higher than in 2002 and 16 places higher than in 1998. A score of Proficient and above on the NAEP assessment is comparable to a score of 4.5 to 5.5 on the FCAT Writing essay.

“Teaching a student how to write is one of the most rewarding experiences imaginable,” said Jan Graham, a sixth-grade Language Arts teacher at Cobb Middle School in Tallahassee. “In addition to developing essential skills that will make them more successful in life, writing infuses within students a passion to express themselves.”

Beginning at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, May 13, parents may view their students’ scores via the FCAT Parent Network (www.fcatparentnetwork.com) using the secure login and password provided by their school. School districts and schools can access electronic copies of their reports today. Printed reports, including individual student reports, school reports, district and state reports, will be delivered to school districts next week.

To view the 2008 FCAT Writing+ fact sheet, visit http://www.fldoe.org/news/2008/2008_05_08/2008FCATWritingFactSheet.pdf.

To view school, district and state FCAT reports, visit http://fcat.fldoe.org/fwinfopg.asp.