FELE
For Testing Beginning 1/1/2026

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Subtest 4 – Leadership Communication

General Information

The written performance assignment is an authentic task that offers you the opportunity to demonstrate the ability to use reciprocal communication focusing on collaboration to promote greater stakeholder engagement around student academic performance and well-being; to develop strategies to manage and resolve conflicts through constructive conversations; and to recognize the contributions and input of parents or guardians, students, and other stakeholders. For this assignment, you will write a communication to a specified stakeholder group.

Directions for the Written Performance Assignment

A sample written performance assignment is presented below. You will have one hour to prepare, write, and edit your response.

You must write an original response that specifically and directly responds to the assignment. Pre-prepared responses that are discovered to contain memorized sentences or pre-prepared passages will be invalidated. For example, if the raters discover passages that appear in two or more responses, the responses and the violation will be brought to the attention of the Florida Department of Education and may result in the invalidation of your scores.

Be sure to monitor your time effectively and allow time for editing and revising. Take a few minutes to organize your thoughts and plan your response. Leave time for editing and revising after you have completed your response. You may outline or plan your response on the erasable notebooklet provided. Your informal outline or plan will not be scored.

Your response should demonstrate your ability to write, with proficiency, at a postsecondary level appropriate to an educational leader.

Performance Criteria

Your written performance assessment will be evaluated holistically according to the following criteria.

Performance Criteria
Criteria Description
Completion The degree to which the examinee completes the assignment by responding to each specific task in the assignment.
Data and Plan Alignment The extent to which the examinee establishes plans for change that are aligned with data findings and relevant implications.
Application of Content The degree to which the examinee applies the relevant knowledge and skills to the response accurately and effectively and reflects understanding of the target audience.
Support The degree to which the examinee supports the response with appropriate evidence, examples, and explanations based on the relevant content knowledge and skills.

Scoring Criteria

Your response will be scored holistically by two raters. The raters will use the criteria listed below when evaluating your response. The score you receive for your written performance assessment will be the combined total of the two raters' scores.

Essay Scores and Criteria
Essay Score Criteria
SCORE of 4 The "4" response reflects a thorough understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response fully addresses all parts of the assignment.
  • The response clearly and accurately interprets and aligns data to an action plan or stakeholder communication.
  • The response demonstrates an accurate, highly effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills and clearly reflects understanding of the target audience.
  • The response provides strong, relevant evidence, specific examples, and well-reasoned explanations.
SCORE of 3 The "3" response reflects a general understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses most or all parts of the assignment.
  • The response interprets and aligns data to an action plan or stakeholder communication.
  • The response demonstrates a generally accurate, effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills and generally reflects understanding of the target audience.
  • The response provides sufficient evidence, some examples, and generally sound explanations.
SCORE of 2 The "2" response reflects a limited understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses at least some of the parts of the assignment.
  • The response partially interprets and aligns data to an action plan or stakeholder communication.
  • The response demonstrates a partially accurate, partially effective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills and partially reflects understanding of the target audience.
  • The response provides limited evidence and examples or explanations, when provided, may be only partially appropriate.
SCORE of 1 The "1" response reflects little or no understanding of the relevant content knowledge and skills.
  • The response addresses, few, if any, parts of the assignment.
  • The response inaccurately interprets and aligns data, if at all, to an action plan or stakeholder communication.
  • The response demonstrates a largely inaccurate, ineffective application of the relevant content knowledge and skills and reflects little understanding of the target audience.
  • The response provides little to no evidence, and if provided, examples or explanations are weak or inappropriate.
U The response is unscorable because it is not written to the assigned topic, is written in a language other than English, does not contain a sufficient amount of original work to score, or does not appear to be an original essay in terms of sentence structure, diction, organization, and/or content.
B There is no response to the assignment.

Sample Written Performance Assignment

Read and analyze the three exhibits provided, then address the stakeholder group specified in the scenario in a written communication in which you:

Be sure to use evidence from all the exhibits in your response. Responses should be approximately 200 to 400 words.

Exhibit 1: Scenario

You are the new assistant principal of an elementary school serving several neighborhoods in a small city. There are approximately 471 students enrolled in the school and 45 faculty members. Approximately 68% of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, 14% of students are identified as English learners, and 16.6% of students have identified disabilities.

Student achievement scores on state assessments have been among the highest in the district over the past 5 years. Teachers tell you that they feel respected as professionals by the school community. They also share that students are well-behaved in class.

At the beginning of the school year, the principal tells you that the school's average daily attendance rate declined from 95% 2 years ago to 85% last year in grades 3, 4, and 5. One of the school's goals is to reverse this trend. Conversations with several parents or guardians over the course of the last school year revealed that many students in grades 3, 4, and 5 did not feel safe at school. These parents or guardians told the principal that their children were subjected to bullying in several instances and had trouble concentrating in class. One parent or guardian told the principal that several children from their neighborhood had similar experiences and, when asked, said they did not enjoy going to school. In addition, the principal shares with you the results of surveys given to faculty members and students in grades 3, 4, and 5 at the end of the previous school year.

The principal asks you to review last year's survey data and then prepare a letter to parents or guardians about this emerging concern, how the school plans to respond to it, and how all stakeholders can contribute to the solution.

Exhibit 2: Excerpt from Faculty Survey

Faculty Survey
 intentionally left blank % Agree or Strongly Agree (89% of faculty responding)
The school is a safe and welcoming place for students, staff, and families. 90
Faculty at the school understand each student's needs and respond accordingly. 80
Students and staff treat one another with respect at the school. 80
The teachers at the school believe that all students can achieve high standards. 75
Teachers at the school provide appropriate challenges and help students learn. 85
Students' cultural backgrounds are viewed as a resource for learning at the school. 70
My ideas, thoughts, and experiences are valued at the school. 80

Views expressed by five or more faculty members:

Exhibit 3: Excerpt from Survey Given to Students in Grades 3, 4, and 5

Student Survey
Grades 3 to 5
 intentionally left blank % Agree or Strongly Agree
My school is a safe place for me to learn. 61
Teachers at the school help me learn when the subject is difficult. 80
I have friends at school. 78
There is a teacher at school that will listen when I have a problem and help me solve it. 72
Students respect one another at school. 60
I know what to do if an emergency occurs at school. 85
Teachers at my school help students settle disagreements. 77
Students at my school understand and follow the rules. 55

Views expressed by five or more students:

Sample Responses

Sample passing and not passing responses coming soon.

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