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For many, taking tests can create anxiety, causing physical symptoms like excessive sweating, nausea, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath or headaches; emotional symptoms can include feelings of self-doubt, fear, stress, inadequacy or anger, according to Healthline. Thankfully for students at Pensacola State College, the Humanities and Social Sciences department strives to reduce these anxieties by providing study support with their Showdown sessions. Attendees review basic facts and take fun Kahoot! quizzes to prepare for the Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE), a computer-based assessment that measures students’ civic literacy knowledge.
According to the Florida Department of Education website, the FCLE measures four civic literacy competencies and outcomes: understanding of the basic principles and practices of American democracy and how they are applied in our republican form of government, understanding of the United States Constitution and its application, knowledge of the founding documents and how they have shaped the nature and functions of our institutions of self-government, and understanding of landmark Supreme Court cases, landmark legislation, and landmark executive actions and their impact on law and society.
Motivated students from a variety of intended fields, ranging from nursing to cybersecurity, attended the department’s Civic Literacy Showdown study session on Sept. 27, 2024. Led by instructors Drs. Nicky Gottschall and Donna Gosbee, the timing of this review could not have been more perfect for student McKenzie Alfred, who took the exam on Oct. 1, the Tuesday after the study session. Leif Olsson, Noah Desmangles and Faith Holman will be graduating in December, so this review helped them kick-start their efforts to pass the test later this semester. Scott A. Schackmann, Department Head of Humanities and Social Sciences, shared that the department is planning the second Civic Literacy Study Bootcamp for November 15 from 9 a.m. to noon in Building 14, Room 1444.
The Florida Civic Literacy Requirement is a requirement for graduation in the state of Florida. Most students (depending on when they initially entered the Florida College System or State University System) need to fulfill a course requirement by taking POS 2041, AMH 2010 or AMH 2020 and passing the Florida Civic Literacy Exam with at least a 60% (48 correctly answered questions out of 80 total questions). This is for any student seeking an AA, AS, BAS or BSN degree (depending on the year of initial entry). If students are unaware of who their assigned advisors are or have not been assigned advisors yet, they can contact the Humanities and Social Sciences Department by phone at (850) 484-1425 or by email at hss@pensacolastate.edu.