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10th Grade Reading

10th Grade Math

Reports

System Requirements

Parents & Family FCAT Guide

FCAT Tips & Strategies

The FCAT Explorer is a free, Internet-accessible, educational Web site
( www.fcatexplorer.com ) that provides innovative practice programs and instructional support tools to strengthen the skills students need for success on the FCAT, in the classroom, and in life. Practice programs on the FCAT Explorer Web site are produced by the Florida Department of Education in partnership with the University of West Florida. Currently, skill practice is available for 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th Grade Reading, as well as 5th, 8th, and 10th Grade Math. We encourage parents and students to take advantage of this free program as much as possible.

Login Information
A school-provided sign-in name and password is required to access the student materials. A student’s sign-in name is the first initial and last name. A student’s password is their 8 digit birth date.

For example, if a student’s name was Jennifer Lopez and was born on June 9, 1990, then this student’s login information would be:
sign-in name: jlopez
password: 06091990

So, log on to www.fcatexplorer.com and put FCAT Explorer to work for you.

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10th Grade Reading
The Reading Timeline provides more than 250 FCAT-like practice activities that cover each of the Reading Benchmarks tested on the FCAT for 10th grade. Not only do students practice answering multiple-choice items for every Benchmark, but they also practice short-response (SR) and extended-response (ER) performance tasks as well.

Time periods and passages do not have to be completed in any particular order. When the activities for every reading passage have been completed in each of the five time periods, a student would have had comprehensive practice on all of the 10th Grade Reading Benchmarks tested on the FCAT.

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10th Grade Math
The Math Timeline is designed with careful adherence to the same specifications used to develop the FCAT itself. Students receive ample opportunities to work with practice items that are very much like the test items they will encounter when they take the test.

A student may access problems from either the Strand list or the Theme Screen. If a student elects to work from the Strand list, he or she may freely navigate through the problems. If a student selects the Theme Screen, the program presents the first practice problem in the Theme. After completing any problem in a Theme, a student may choose to move to a different Theme or exit the FCAT Explorer. A Progress Meter keeps track of where a student is in the problem sequence. The next time the student explores that Theme, he or she will be presented with the next problem in the sequence.

Multiple choice problems can be answered by clicking the button to the left of the answer choice. For gridded response problems, a student can type an answer at the top of the Answer Grid. When a student child selects the Strand-based navigation, he or she may select problems from five different Strands: When a student selects the Timeline, he or she may choose from five different Time Periods: Furthermore, within each Timeline, a student my select from four Themes: The Math Timeline provides approximately 145 FCAT-like practice activities that cover each of the five Math Strands tested on the FCAT for 10th grade. It provides students with authentic practice using on-line versions of the same problem-solving tools they will use when they take the FCAT. To solve each problem, students must read a description of the problem and draw information from a colorful graphic that illustrates a math concept, the subject matter, or both. The student then synthesizes information from both of these sources, decides on a method for solving the problem, and works the necessary operations with pencil and paper before entering an answer into the computer.

The program provides a Reference Sheet that provides all of the formulas and other content students will find on the Reference Sheet provided during the FCAT. The program also provides an on-line calculator that is designed to provide the same functions, as the calculator students will use when taking the FCAT.

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Explorer Report
When a student has completed a session using the FCAT Explorer, he or she can view and print a report called the Explorer's Report. Click on the "Explorer's Report" option to view this report. The Explorer's Report tells a student the number of problems he or she responded to for each Strand and the percentage of problems that were answered correctly. A student’s scores are grouped by day, month, and year.

When the computer session is over, a student should close the Internet browser or click "Sign Out." Either action signs your child out of the FCAT Explorer Web site.

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Minimum System Requirements
Internet Connection (per computer) 56.6 kbps modem or network connection speed recommended; 28.8 kbps modem minimum.
Operating System Windows 95 or higher or Macintosh system 8.1 or higher. 
Web Browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher recommended (Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.5 are a minimum requirement). Please note: Netscape Navigator 6.0 is not supported for FCAT Explorer use on any operating system. 
Plug-Ins Macromedia Flash Player 6.0 or higher.
Display Resolutions SVGA (800 x 600 or higher) recommended; VGA (640 x 480) minimum. 
Display Color Depth 16-bit (thousands of colors) recommended; 8-bit (256 colors) minimum. 
Sound A sound card and speakers or headphones are optional. 

Please call toll-free 1-888-750-3228 if you have any questions concerning these requirements.

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Parents & Family FCAT Guide
Click here to view the the Parents & Family FCAT Guide sponsored by FCAT Explorer, which is available in the following languages:
  • Creole
  • English
  • Spanish

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