How do I Do Well on the Research Reference Portion of the FCAT?

The reference and research portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, is worth approximately five to 40 percent of the attainable raw-score points for the Reading section, depending on grade level. This portion of the reading assessment tests such things as: a student's understanding and use of maps, charts and photos as sources of information; her skill at organizing, interpreting and analyzing written information, including across different texts; and her ability to select and use the appropriate research skills and tools based on the task at hand.

Instructions

    • 1

      Learn and understand what the focus of this portion of the test will be for your grade level. Ask your teacher about this if he has not already discussed it. You can also find this information on the Florida Department of Education website. The focus is somewhat different for each grade and you will be able to study and practice more efficiently once you know what specific skills and topics to focus on.

    • 2

      Practice the skills you will be tested on by applying them in your daily reading. For instance, the FCAT Handbook says that fourth graders will be expected to identify text features including "titles, subtitles, headings, subheadings, charts, graphs, diagrams, illustrations, captions, maps [and] key/legends." Look for these text features in your daily reading and practice identifying and organizing them until you can do so quickly and with ease.

    • 3

      Make your own practice research project based on something you're interested in and execute it using the skills you'll be tested on. For instance, according to the FCAT Handbook, seventh and eighth graders will be expected to collect, evaluate and summarize information from a variety of sources, such as encyclopedias and websites. The Handbook also says that they must synthesize, analyze and evaluate information to determine its validity and reliability within and across texts. Practice these skills by researching a topic you're interested in, to make research fun while building your adeptness.

    • 4

      Use concentration games to strengthen your skill at flipping back to portions of text to find references or to crosscheck information for validity. The concentration card game is helpful to build these skills. In this game, you pick eight matched pairs of cards from a normal deck---for instance, two fours, two fives, two jacks, etc. Lay them out on the floor in four rows of four. Start by turning over one card to see what the number is. Leave that card right side up while you guess where its match may be and turn that card over. If you guessed right, put the pair to the side. If not, turn them both over. Soon this game shifts from guessing to remembering where you saw certain cards to find matches. This is the same skill you use to remember generally where a specific bit of information was in the text, so that you can quickly flip back and refer to it during the test.

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