Zach Forn
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Karma: 0 |  | Reading Level of the FCAT
« Thread Started on Nov 18, 2006, 10:38am » | ![[Quote]](http://s4.images.proboards.com/buttons/quote.gif) |
The FCAT is supposed to test 10th graders, correct? Then why are half the readings passages written at 11th grade, 12th grades, and sometimes even college reading levels!? In 2005 the Florida Department of Education released the 2004 FCAT test. This released test contained six readings in the Reading portion: one poem and five prose pieces.
On a whim, I decided to do a reading level analysis on the Reading portion. I went to the DOE’s website (www.fldoe.org) and located the released test. I transferred the PDF files into a Word document (sometimes typing whole passages!) and performed a Flesch-Kincaid reading level analysis on the readings using the options available on Microsoft Word. I took an analysis for each reading as whole, as well each paragraph within each reading. The results for the five prose readings are below.
"Bike-Friendly Communities" -
· The entire piece is an 11.4 grade/reading level.
· All but one paragraph is written at a 12th grade/college reading level.
· The "bullets" included in the reading are a 9.7 reading level
· IN GENERAL: The combination of the bullets and the single paragraph not at the 12th grade/college level reading assist in reducing the overall reading level for what is essentially a 12th grade piece. Significant portions of the reading are at the reading level required to read the Harvard Law Review (generally in the 30's on the Flesch Reading Ease Test).
"What's Your Best Time of Day?"
· The entire piece is a 9.7 grade/reading level.
· However: nearly 50% the reading is above the intended reading level the test is designed to assess. Two paragraphs are written at a 12th grade/college reading level.
. Significant portions of the reading approach the reading level required to read the Harvard Law Review.
· IN GENERAL: The inclusion of a third grade reading level concluding paragraph and two sixth grade reading level transition paragraphs (the longest of which is two sentences) skews the total results, disguising the true reading level for the main information of the piece.
"The Origins of Baseball"
· The entire piece is an 8.6 reading level
· Two paragraphs are written at an 11th grade reading level. 44.5% of the questions dealing with this reading ask for general information from these two paragraphs, and almost a quarter of the questions ask for specifics from these same two sections.
· IN GENERAL I find it odd that such a large percentage of the questions for this piece come from the two paragraphs that are written above the intended grade level the test is designed to test.
"After You've Stood on the Log at the Center of the Universe, What Is There Left to Do?"
· The entire piece is written at a 3.6 reading level.
"Women Who Shaped the Constitution"
· The entire piece is a 11.7 reading level
· Nearly 50% of the piece is at a 12th grade/college reading level
. Significant portions of the reading are written at the same level as the Harvard Law Review
Again, if this test is intended to test 10th graders, why is much of it written at a reading level that would challenge a 12th grader!!??
I would ask that you do the same as I did, perform a reading level analysis of the test, and discover for yourselves these odd findings.
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