How Pinellas 3rd-Graders Did on the FCAT

More than half of Pinellas County's third-graders read at or above grade level – at 56 percent – according to FCAT results released Friday morning.

But only 48 percent of the district's third-graders scored at or above grade level on the math portion of the FCAT.

The results place the third-graders on pace with their peers across Florida in reading. But they were 10 points behind Florida third-graders in the area of math.

Scores on the third-grade reading FCAT are numbered from 1 to 5, with 3 the minimum for students to be considered at grade level.

Students who score "1" are at risk of being held back.

In Pinellas schools:

• 17 percent scored a "1" in reading;
• 24 percent scored a "1" in math.

Florida’s passage rates have dropped after exams were changed and a more rigorous scoring system implemented.

Teacher evaluations are partially based on students’ FCAT scores.

School letter grades are set to be released in July,

Students’ individual FCAT results will be distributed to parents by schools later.