What is FAST / B.E.S.T.?
Florida public-school students take the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) three times a year in ELA and Math (grades 3-10), plus a B.E.S.T. Science test at grades 5 and 8. High school students take B.E.S.T. End-of-Course (EOC) exams in Algebra I and Biology. The Spring (PM3) administration is the summative measure used here.
What does "% at Level 3 or Above" mean?
It is the percentage of students at the school who scored at Level 3, 4, or 5 on Florida's 5-level B.E.S.T. performance scale. Level 3 is "On Grade Level"; Levels 4 and 5 are "Above Grade Level" and "Mastery". The cumulative top-three rate is the headline measure FLDOE reports for school grades. A higher number is better.
What does 51.4% mean for English Language Arts at PLATO ACADEMY PINELLAS PARK CHARTER SCHOOL?
It means about 51.4 percent of students tested at PLATO ACADEMY PINELLAS PARK CHARTER SCHOOL performed at grade level or above on the FAST / B.E.S.T. English Language Arts test in 2024-25. The statewide average for Florida that year was 56.7%. The other students fell into the lower performance levels.
How is the state average calculated?
It is a weighted average, not a simple average of each school's number. We multiply each public school's score by how many of its students tested, add those together for all schools in Florida, and divide by the total students tested that year. This way a big school with 1,500 students counts more than a small school with 50 students, which is the right way to ask "how did the typical student do this year?". District and county averages on this page use the same method, just scoped to that district or county.
Where does this data come from?
Florida Department of Education, Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) and B.E.S.T. End-of-Course exams (Algebra I, Biology). School-level results from the FLDOE Spring PM3 administration. Headline metric is the cumulative "Level 3 or Above" rate on Florida's 5-level B.E.S.T. performance scale.
How often is it updated?
FAST / B.E.S.T. is administered once a year (spring). Results are released by the state in the summer or early fall. We refresh this page after each annual release.
