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FCAT
Information |
| FCAT Writing (8th
Grade Only) - February |
| FCAT SSS & NRT
(All Grades) - March |
| This year SCIENCE
will be tested in the 8th Grade Only
|
| The Florida Comprehensive Achievement
Test is given
each year to Florida students in grades 3rd - 10th grade. It is
divided into 4 unique parts. FCAT Writing given to 8th grade,
FCAT Science given to 8th grade, FCAT SSS given to 6-8 and FCAT NRT given to 6-8. The FCAT Writing
evaluates how well Florida students are doing in the area of
writing. The FCAT SSS is designed to evaluate how well students are
progressing towards meeting the Sunshine State Standards for their
particular grades.
The Sunshine State Standards are a set of
curriculum "goals or benchmarks", the state has developed to
help standardize the academic curriculums across the state of
Florida. The "standards" establish the information each
grade level is expected to teach in each subject. The FCAT tests the
students on this information to see how well they have "grasped"
this information. The FCAT NRT is a "nationally normed"
test that evaluates how well Florida students are doing academically
compared to the rest of the country.
The FCAT is also used to determine the
"school grade". A sophisticated formula evaluates student
improvement to establish the school's grade in improving student academic
performance.
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FCAT Website:
http://fcat.fldoe.org/ |
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SDRT
Information |
|
SDRT (6th Grade Only) -
September |
| Polk County School District, in an
effort to better evaluate the reading level of our students, has adopted
the SDRT (Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test) to be administered at the
Middle School Level. The test is designed as an "in house
assessment" of the current reading ability of middle school
students. The SDRT is a short test which is scored at the county
level which allows for a quick return on results. These results can
then be used by the Language Arts/Reading teachers to better instruct
their students in reading.
Union Academy tests all 6th grade students with
the SDRT. 7th and 8th grade students are not tested due to the use
of the FCAT NRT as their reading assessment.
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NAEP
Information |
|
NAEP (8th Grade
Only) |
The NAEP is a congressionally
mandated project overseen by the National Center for Educational
Statistics (NCES) to continuously monitor the knowledge, skills and
performance of the nation's children and youth. It is often referred
to as the "Nation's Report Card." It is administered to
randomly selected schools each year. Annually across the nation,
numerous 4th, 8th, and 12th graders are evaluated by this project.
Two years ago Union Academy was selected to participate, along with several
other Polk County schools. We have not been advised if we will be selected
this year. |
NAEP Website:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ |
|
PSAT
Information |
|
October |
| The Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude
Test (PSAT) is a test designed to be given to 11th graders to help them
prepare for the SAT. The PSAT is also the qualifying test for the
National Merit Scholars Program, a nation wide scholarship
program.
Union Academy provides the 8th graders the
opportunity to take the PSAT to get some practice with the test make-up
and requirement to help them better prepare for future tests.
After a student completes the PSAT (usually in
early October), the scores are returned to the school in early
December. The PSAT is a good tool because it not only provides the
student with an overall score, but it also provides detailed information
regarding the questions. It tells the student which questions he/she
scored and give the student's answer and the correct answer (if the
student's answer was incorrect). The PSAT also provides the student
with their original test so they can review the actual test question and
determine areas for future study.
The PSAT Test is strictly volunteer and a
fee is charged for the test.
|
PSAT Website:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/psat/about.html |
|
Duke
Talent Search |
|
September/October each
Year (7th Grade Only) |
| The Duke Talent Search is a program
sponsored by Duke University to identify "high performing" 7th
graders and track their performance throughout their high school
careers. The program is strictly volunteer and does have a
fee involved to be registered.
7th Grade Students that meet the Duke Talent
Search program entrance requirements are invited to register with the
program. These students will register with the program and then take
either the SAT or ACT to further qualify. The students will take the
actual SAT or ACT just like the high school juniors and seniors.
Based on their score on the SAT or ACT, the students may qualify for
further program benefits and potentially scholarships.
|
Duke Talent Search
Website:
http://www.tip.duke.edu |
|
Orleans-Hanna
Math Test |
|
April/May each year (7th
Grade Only) |
| The Orleans-Hanna is a math test
given to the 7th grade students to determine their potential for taking
Algebra during their 8th grade year. The test is designed to provide
an indicator as to how well a student might learn Algebra. The test
does not measure the student's current knowledge in algebra, but rather
their potential to understand and learn the algebraic concepts.
The test is administered and scored at Union
Academy. A high score on the Orleans-Hanna DOES NOT assure the
student will be accepted in the Algebra classes, just as a low score DOES
NOT automatically exclude the student. The Orleans-Hanna is only one
of the assessments taken into consideration in determining a student's
qualifications for Algebra in the 8th grade.
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