Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test - Administration and Use

Administration and Use

The FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) is administered annually, in late February and early to mid-March as well as April, to all public school students in grades three through eleven. Students in grades three through ten are required to take the reading and math portion every year. Private and parochial school students are not required to take the FCAT; most of these schools administer another standardized test instead, such as the Stanford Achievement Test, which is exactly the same as the FCAT NRT, formerly taken by public school students. FCAT Science is administered annually to public school students in the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades. In the fourth, eighth, and tenth grades, public school students take the FCAT Writes exam (formerly called "Florida Writes!" and "FCAT Writing+"); unlike the other tests, the FCAT Writes exam is administered in early February to allow adequate time for scoring before the end of the school year.

Students' results from the FCAT are compiled to generate a grade for each public school. Under this plan, public schools receive a grade from A to F, depending on student performance and the degree to which the bottom 25% of the school has improved compared to its past performances. The higher a public school scores, the more funding it receives. As of the 2010-2011 school year it has been called the "FCAT 2.0" On actually test material it is labeled "FCAT 2.0 Next Generation Sunshine State Standards."