Florida Educators’ Ultimate Guide to Prepare for FSA Testing

Florida’s spring testing window is just around the corner—are you and your students ready? Between making sure that you are staying on pace with curriculum guides, practicing test-taking procedures and strategies, and providing the targeted preparation and reinforcement individual students need, this time of year can quickly begin to feel overwhelming for educators. The good news is that a little research and planning can go a long way toward ensuring that you’re able to provide the support students need to be successful on their Florida Standards Assessments (FSAs). We’ve gathered all of the most useful, detailed, and relevant resources out there on the FSAs to help you put an outstanding test-preparation program into action.

FSA Resources from the Florida Department of Education

When it comes to the FSAs, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) is the authority. And, the FDOE has a great collection of free resources for educators! We’ve done the legwork of combing through the FDOE library to find the best FSA materials.

2019–20 Guide to State Assessments  
It’s always important to understand the basics. This document provides a great overview of content, administration, and procedures for the FSA and other Florida summative tests.

2019–20 FSA Fact Sheets (ELA and Mathematics & End-of-Course)
It’s always good to have your facts straight! These fact sheets provide useful information regrinding 2019–20 FSAs, including scheduling, achievement level and scale score overviews, and administration information.

FSA Portal
The FSA Portal provides resources for students, parents, educators, test administrators, school assessment coordinators, district assessment coordinators, and technology coordinators. You’ll also find important information and the latest updates as they become available.

Released FSA Practice Test Materials (and ELA Text-Based Writing Samplers)
Practice tests are outstanding resources to give students a first-hand look at what they can expect to encounter on testing day. These test materials are provided by the FDOE, and they aim to help students become familiar with the paper-based item types and the computer-based system, functionality, and item types. Writing samplers with scoring rubrics are also available to define how points will be given within each domain.

Additional FSA Resources Available
The FDOE has tons of additional resources available to cover all of your FSA needs and questions, including information on the most recent updates, student accommodations, specific content areas, professional development, and reporting.

FSA Test-Preparation Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices for Classroom Teachers

FSA prep doesn’t have to dominate your classroom agenda this spring. By getting started early, utilizing formative assessment strategies, and making the most of practice testing, teachers in the classroom can provide students with individualized FSA support without sacrificing time from the standard curriculum (and of course, some fun!). Check out these resources to get started.

5 Proven Ways to Get the Most Out of Practice Testing
The old adage “practice makes perfect” is a familiar turn of phrase for a reason. Ensure that you’re getting the most out of every minute your students are spending on practice testing.

3 Ways Online Practice Can Support Your Test-Prep Program  
As you are considering different options to ensure that your students have achieved standards proficiency, it’s critical that you have a program that’s aligned to the Florida standards. Consider this and other benefits of using an online program.

4 Best Practices to Use Midyear Benchmark Assessment Data
Like any assessment, midyear benchmarks are only as valuable as the strategies you employ using the data. Here are four ways to make these assessments a truly valuable exercise for you and your students.

Marzano-Validated Best Practices for Online Practice
The Edmentum research team was honored to have Marzano Research peer review a research project that we conducted for our classroom practice and assessment program, Study Island. Through that review, Marzano confirmed our findings about the effectiveness of Study Island, and we also uncovered four best practices to help students get the most out of online practice.

General Test-Prep and Test-Taking Tips for Educators

No matter the exact situation, testing is a stressful process. But successful test taking, beyond content knowledge, is also a skill that can be taught, acquired, and mastered. Here are some of our best resources on general test prep and test taking to help the FSA testing process go smoothly at your school.

10 Classroom and School Tips to Improve Test Scores
Helping students achieve Florida success is about much more than targeted practice in the classroom. Check out these 10 holistic tips to make sure that your students are ready for their assessments in all ways.

8 Last-Minute Steps Districts Can Take to Improve Test Scores
Administrators may not feel like they have a direct hand in making sure that students are well-prepared for FSAs. But, there is no shortage of steps administrators can take to ensure that their teachers and students have what they need for a successful testing season—even when it comes down to the wire.

6 Tips for Teachers to Help Students Manage Stress
Testing season inevitably means classroom stress will hit a new high. So, how can you keep anxiety levels in check and help your students stay cool, calm, and collected when test day rolls around? Here are six tips for a low(er) stress testing season:

8 Tips for Parents to Help Your Child Prepare for High-Stakes Tests
Parents and other caregivers are critical to every student’s education journey. So, get them involved in the FSA-preparation process! Share these eight simple tips with parents to help them support their learners on testing days.

Ready to take your FSA-preparation program to the next level? Check out Study Island, Edmentum’s online solution for classroom practice and assessment, and our extensive library of programs designed exclusively for Florida educators and students. You can even start your FREE trial of Study Island today!

This blog post was originally published on January 24, 2019.