Assessments
Florida State Assessments Can Now Be Taken Outside Florida: A Win for Military Families
By Katie Hodgins on August 3rd, 2023
We’re excited to announce that Florida Virtual School (FLVS) Full Time students of military families now have the flexibility to participate in state assessments administered at their parents’ or guardians’ current military duty station. Families must submit a written request to include official documentation of the family’s current out-of-state duty station to receive this flexibility. Upon approval, parents and students won’t have to travel back to Florida for state or end-of-course testing.
Continue readingFLVS Collaborates with Research Partners
By April Fleetwood on May 15th, 2020
Blended and online learning are still relatively new modes of Kindergarten-12th grade learning. As they continue to grow, learning more about what makes them effective for students is critically important.
Research and Evaluation is an arm of our Analysis, Assessment, and Accountability department at Florida Virtual School. Part of this team’s work includes collaborating with universities and other research partners to broaden and contribute to blended and online learning research focused on primary and secondary educational environments.
Continue readingThe Last Stretch
By Guest Blogger on May 12th, 2017
This is the eleventh post in a series by former FLVS student Makaila, a model, author, and student advocate.
Hey FLVS! Summer is almost in your reach.
The unlimited time at the pool, lack of homework, and more importantly, sleep. Summer feels closer than you think, but don’t let it cloud your last grades of the year.
So, to save you in your last few weeks of school, I am going to give you some tips that will lock you in for success.
When I was in school, I was an avid procrastinator, waiting until the last possible minute to do something. Don’t do that to yourself.
I promise the extra time you think you’re giving yourself isn’t worth it. No amount of television or even just hanging out with friends is worth it when it comes to exams. The moments where you will end up cramming could be spent sleeping. And sleeping is a necessity when it comes to not bombing your last exam! Continue reading
Ready…Set…Test!
By Guest Blogger on April 24th, 2017
We all deal with the grueling task of being tested, whether we are in grade school, in college, on the job site – or dealing with everyday situations (parenting, teaching, etc.).
It seems we face some sort of test in our life every day, whether a paper/pencil exam or making the right moral choices. As a school counselor, I am tasked with assisting students and parents with making the right choices to successfully work their way through school – academically, socially, and emotionally.
Today I want to focus on the academic realm and the tests and exams that all students must go through. I’ll share tools to help them be successful when faced with these assessments.
Some of the points I will share can cross into other facets of tests that we all go through in our personal and professional lives as well.
Be sure to save this handy acrostic blog post full of tips for your next big exam!
R.E.A.D.Y. … S.E.T. … T.E.S.T. Continue reading
When Will I Ever Use Math?
By Guest Blogger on April 21st, 2017
No matter what subject we face, the FLVS Curriculum Development team strives to connect complex concepts with everyday examples to motivate student learning.
This commitment to real-world connections is particularly helpful for anyone who has ever struggled with math.
What may have felt like a boring lesson in the past is now power-packed with exciting FLVS approaches to mathematical concepts!
Every click in an FLVS mathematics course answers the question, “When am I ever gonna use this?” Continue reading
FLVS Discussion-Based Assessments (DBAs): Options and Alternatives
By Guest Blogger on March 31st, 2017
If you missed our quick-start video about discussion-based assessments (DBAs), don’t worry! In this post, we’re sharing a great recap that covers everything you need to know.
At FLVS, we want students to be successful and completely comfortable when learning online. This includes discussion-based assessments. Even though some students may get nervous or anxious, just remember that DBAs are simply a verbal conversation between you and your teacher.
DBAs are one of the ways we ensure academic integrity (and make sure that it’s actually you doing the work). This is why teachers need to hear directly from you! They will be referencing the work you have done and speaking to students and parents multiple times throughout the course, so there is a common thread of communication that helps teachers connect a face (or voice) to the same student they see in live lessons and through submitted work. DBAs are also there for teachers to help you! Continue reading
Would You Rather…the Dentist or a DBA?
By Guest Blogger on March 24th, 2017
Chances are that if you ask someone if they’d rather have dental work done or speak in front of an audience, that person will probably have to take a moment to think about it.
According to many studies, the idea of speaking in public or making a presentation ranks extremely high on the anxiety scale.
Along those lines, we’ve heard from many of our students that they are apprehensive when it comes to their discussion-based assessment, commonly known as a DBA. For those not familiar with the DBA, it is a verbal conversation between a student and teacher to discuss what he/she has learned in the modules.
If this is you, you can take some comfort in the simple fact you are not alone.
Have you ever watched someone talk in public and think, “Man, they are great—so relaxed and natural. I wish I could speak like that.” While it’s true that some have a natural gift for gab and their conversations seem effortless, it is quite possible that they had to learn to overcome their nervousness. Speaking professionally in a public setting, is a skill that must be developed and fine-tuned. And this takes time.
Here’s a secret… Continue reading
Innovative Math Instruction
By Guest Blogger on May 8th, 2015
More than ever before, middle school math students are being asked to perform at a higher rate in class and on assessments.
Students are learning higher-level standards and being evaluated in new ways with computer-based testing and interactive tools.
New standards expect students to be able to: make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, look for and make use of structure, and look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Continue reading
Test Anxiety
By Amy LaGrasta on April 9th, 2014
Anyone can get test anxiety. In fact, it is normal to feel some stress before a test. The anticipation and nerves you feel can actually help you perform at your peak. However, for some people this normal stress is much more intense. Students who worry a lot in general may feel more anxious at test time. Those who worry about getting every answer correct may be even more prone to test stress.
Students who eat right, get plenty of rest, and get ample play and exercise time are better equipped to combat test anxiety. These are important factors all the time, but it’s most important to get all three the day before a test.
Practicing these few tips prove to be valuable skills not only when dealing with test anxiety, but in many of life’s situations: Continue reading
Everyone Needs a Coach
By Guest Blogger on February 6th, 2014
I’m a Georgia Bulldog fan…I’ll just go ahead and say that. I’m not a huge football fan where I am glued to the TV on the weekends, but I do enjoy a good game and I certainly enjoy watching my team play. I am always fascinated by the week-to-week changes in a team.
Some weeks I think my team will make it to the National Championship game, and other weeks I wonder if this is their first game. And if anything has made it clear that you can never know what to expect from a team, it was last Sunday’s Super Bowl game!
But regardless of how the team performs, there is ultimately one person who is held accountable for the outcome: the coach. Continue reading