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 to 3008, and you should see it increase from year to year as your child progresses in her understanding of the reading concepts assessed on the FCAT exams. Again, the higher her Developmental Scale Score, the better her understanding of the test materials.
Identify the Achievement Level. This is a number from 1 to 5 and it determines whether your child successfully passed the reading FCAT exam. A 10th grade student, for instance, must earn an achievement level of 3 or higher in order to pass the test and graduate from high school. The achievement level is correlated to the developmental and reading scale scores, and that correlation changes from year to year.
On average, a student needs to earn about 300 points on the 10th grade reading FCAT in order to reach an achievement level of 3. According to the Florida Department of Education, a student who earns a level 3, "answers many of the test questions correctly but is generally less successful with questions that are the most challenging."