How Do You Understand FCAT Reading Scores?
Florida students take the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT, repeatedly over a period of several years. The FCAT assessments in reading and math are taken every year from third to 10th grade and the test in science is taken in fifth, eighth and 11th grades. A student who takes the FCAT for reading will earn several scores on that test, each completing one piece of the puzzle that determines that child’s achievement on the test. Identify the Reading Scale Score. This is a number between 100 and 500. According to Dr. Margarida Southard with Leon County, Florida, schools, the scale score is a measure of a student’s performance on that test, without comparing his score to any other of his own or another student’s for any year. The higher the scale score, the better your child’s achievement was for that test. Determine the Developmental Scale Score. This is a score that grows with your child, so you can track her progress from third through 10th grade. The score ranges from 86
