When students across the state sit down Monday to begin intensive testing in the main round of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, they’ll be faced with an exam that is a bit different – and, in some cases, harder – than in previous years.
The Florida Department of Education is unveiling the FCAT 2.0 this year for grades 3-10 in reading and grades 3-8 in math.
The new FCATs were designed using the state’s new Next Generation Sunshine State standards, which are considered more rigorous than the previous FCAT standards.
For instance, reading assessments will have more questions that require prior knowledge and reasonable inferences than previous FCAT exams. They will also include more historical documents and literature. Some of the reading passages are longer than in previous years.