FCAT scores fall into one of five levels: Level 5 is the highest; Level 1 is the lowest. But what does that actually mean?
A score of Level 1 on the FCAT means that the student has shown little success in
meeting the basic skills they are supposed to know at their grade level. That means that
third graders who score Level 1 may not be able to recognize or sound-out new words or
know the meaning of them. They would also have trouble answering questions that identify a
story's main idea, main characters, and the correct order of story events. Chances are
that these students can't correctly use information from charts, graphs, or maps to answer
For example, here is an actual FCAT question from a previous version of the third grade reading test. Before answering the test questions, the students first read a short story. In the story, as a young girl builds a sand castle, a small child tries to help and accidentally steps on one of the castle walls. The two then rebuild the castle together. Here is the question:
Read this sentence from the story.
Then he tried to step over the ditch, and his foot smashed the wall.
Which word means almost the SAME as smashed?
A - followed
B - lifted
C - spilled
D - wrecked
Clearly in this story the word smashed means almost the same thing as wrecked. A third grade student who is performing on grade level should be able to recognize this meaning. If a student gets this question wrong, it sends a warning signal to teachers that perhaps this student has not learned the basics he/she should have already learned. If a student gets this question wrong, as well as many others like it, it is a very strong sign that the student needs extra help and assistance.
Heres a sample question from the FCAT third grade math test:
Demetrius walked down the hall at school. He passed the following room numbers on his right: 102, 104, 106.
Which number would he most likely see on the next door on his right?
The point of the question is to determine if the child can recognize number patterns and sequences, in this case the sequence of even numbers. A third grader performing at grade level should be able to give the correct answer of 108. An incorrect answer to this question is a red flag that that child has not learned this specific math skill.
If a student receives a score of Level 2, it means that the student has limited success with the challenging content of the test.
If a student receives a score of Level 3, it means that the student has some success with the challenging content of the test, but performance is inconsistent. A Level 3 student answers many of the questions correctly but is generally less successful with the hardest questions.
If a student receives a score of Level 4, it means that the student was successful answering the challenging parts of the test. A Level 4 student answers most of the questions correctly, but may miss many of the hardest questions.
If a student receives a score of Level 5, it means that the student was successful answering the most challenging parts of the test. A Level 5 student answers most of the test questions correctly, including the hardest ones.