Alternative Standardized Reading Assessment and Use of Student Portfolio for Good Cause Promotion

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
State Board of Education

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
6A-1.094221: Alternative Standardized Reading Assessment and Use of Student Portfolio for Good Cause Promotion

NOTICE OF CHANGE

Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 34 No. 29, July 18, 2008 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.

Rule 6A-1.094221 was approved as shown below:

Rule 6A-1.094221 is amended to read:

6A-1.094221 Alternative Standardized Reading Assessment and Use of Student Portfolio for Good Cause Promotion.

(1) Pursuant to Section 1008.25(6), F.S., relating to the statewide public school student progression law eliminating social promotion, students who score at Level 1 on the Ggrade 3 three Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) Reading may be promoted to grade four if the student demonstrates:

(a) Scores at or above the 51st percentile on the Reading SAT-9 or at or above the 45th percentile on the Reading SAT-10; An acceptable level of performance on the Reading SAT-9 or Reading SAT-10 alternative assessment; or

(b) Demonstrates an acceptable level of performance on an alternative standardized reading assessment approved pursuant to subsection (2) of this rule; or Reading on grade level as evidenced through mastery of the Sunshine State Standards in reading equal to at least Level 2 performance on the grade three FCAT Reading.

(c) Demonstrates reading on grade level as evidenced through mastery of the Sunshine State Standards in reading equal to at least Level 2 performance on the Grade 3 FCAT Reading.

(2) The Department of Education shall review and approve the use of alternative standardized reading assessments to be used as a good cause exemption for promotion to fourth grade. To promote a student using the SAT-9 or SAT-10 as an alternative assessment good cause exemption, the grade three student scoring at Level 1 on FCAT Reading must score at or above the 51st percentile on the SAT-9 or at or above the 45th percentile on the Reading SAT-10. The SAT-9 or SAT-10 may only be administered one (1) time.

(a) The approval of an alternative standardized reading assessment must be based on whether the assessment meets the following criteria:

1. Internal consistency reliability coefficients of at least 0.85;

2. High validity evidenced by the alignment of the test with nationally recognized content standards, as well as specific evidence of content, concurrent, or criterion validity;

3. Norming studies within the last five (5) to ten (10) years, with norming within five (5) years being preferable; and

4. Serves as a measure of grade 3 achievement in reading comprehension.

(b) Districts may submit requests for the approval of alternative standardized reading assessments to be used as a good cause exemption for promotion to fourth grade. Once an assessment has been approved by the Department of Education, the assessment is approved for statewide use.

(c) The Department of Education shall approve the required percentile passing score for each approved alternative standardized reading assessment based on an analysis of Florida student achievement results. If an analysis is not feasible, students must score at or above the 50th percentile on the approved alternative standardized reading assessment.

(d) The earliest the alternative assessment may be administered for student promotion purposes is following administration of the Grade 3 FCAT Reading. An approved standardized reading assessment may be administered two (2) times if there are at least thirty (30) days between administrations and different test forms are administered.

(3) To promote a student using a student portfolio as a good cause exemption there must be evidence that demonstrates the student’s mastery of the Sunshine State Standards in reading equal to at least a Level 2 performance on the Ggrade 3 three FCAT Reading. Such evidence shall be an organized collection of the student’s mastery of the Sunshine State Standard Benchmarks for Language Arts that are assessed by the Ggrade 3 three FCAT Reading. The student portfolio must meet the following criteria:

(a) Be selected by the student’s teacher,

(b) Be an accurate picture of the student’s ability and only include student work that has been independently produced in the classroom,

(c) Include evidence that the benchmarks assessed by the Ggrade 3 three FCAT Reading have been met. Evidence is to include multiple choice items and passages that are approximately sixty (60) percent literary text and forty (40) percent information text, and that are between 100-700 words with an average of 350 words. Such evidence could include chapter or unit tests from the district’s/school’s adopted core reading curriculum that are aligned with the Sunshine State Standards or teacher-prepared assessments.

(d) Be an organized collection of evidence of the student’s mastery of the Sunshine State Standard Benchmarks for Language Arts that are assessed by the Ggrade 3 three FCAT Reading. For each benchmark, there must be at least five (5) examples of mastery as demonstrated by a grade of “C” or above, and

(e) Be signed by the teacher and the principal as an accurate assessment of the required reading skills.

Specific Authority 1008.25(8)(b) FS. Law Implemented 1008.25(6)(b)3. FS. History–New 5-19-03, Amended 7-20-04, 3-24-08,________.