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JIM VERHULSTSome overall statistics may blur distinctions among schools.
More than a school's letter grade, raw scores give you detailed information about a school's test performance.
For example, every student who takes the FCAT reading test is given a final score ranging from 1 to 5. For the state's purpose, a student who scored a 3, 4 or a 5 on reading is counted the same - as "meeting high standards."
But an individual student who scores a 5 has done much better on the test than one who has scored only a 3, although the state (and therefore this chart) treats them the same.
By the state's own definitions, the difference between a 3 and a 5 for an individual student is substantial. For a 5, the state says "performance at this level indicates that the student has success with the most challenging content of the Sunshine State Standards." For a 3, the state says "performance at this level indicates that the student has partial success with the challenging content of the Sunshine State Standards, but performance is inconsistent."
It is just one more caution to bear in mind when deciding how much weight to give school grades and FCAT scores. We don't have room to include each school's raw test scores here. But to see a detailed breakdown of a school's actual scores including all students, not just the ones whose scores contributed to the school grade go to the state's FCAT Web site - http://fcat.fldoe.org - and look up the school you want to see. The results are listed separately for third, fourth and fifth grade.