The Florida 5th grade science test is NOT FAST and NOT B.E.S.T. — it's the Statewide Science Assessment aligned to the older NGSSS standards, the only science test Florida gives in grades K-5, and it covers cumulative content from kindergarten through fifth grade.
The Florida 5th grade science test is the source of more parent confusion than any other test on this list. It is NOT called FAST. It is NOT aligned to B.E.S.T. It is the Statewide Science Assessment (sometimes still called the NGSSS Science Assessment) and it tests the older Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) — adopted in 2008 and still in force for science, never replaced by B.E.S.T. The test is administered once per year in spring (no PM1/PM2/PM3 cycle for science) and is the only state science test Florida gives in grades K-5. Grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 have no state science test at all.
The test covers four NGSSS "Bodies of Knowledge": Nature of Science (the methods and habits of scientific inquiry — observation, hypothesis, experimental design, models, evidence), Earth and Space Science (weather and climate, Earth's structure, the solar system, water cycle), Physical Science (matter, forces and motion, energy, simple machines), and Life Science (cells, ecosystems, life cycles, classification of organisms, human body systems). All four are weighted roughly equally — exact category percentages are in the FLDOE Science Test Design Summary, but the practical rule of thumb is "about 25% each."
What makes the test demanding is that it's cumulative across five grades. A fifth-grader is tested on benchmarks they learned in kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth, AND fifth grade — five years of accumulated science content. Most prep materials assume the test is only on Grade 5 content; that's wrong. The test is 48-54 items total (with 8-10 experimental field-test items at PM3 spring administration), 160 minutes given in two 80-minute sessions across two school days for Grade 5. All items are multiple-choice — Florida Science does not use drag-drop, hot-text, or short constructed response (unlike STAAR Science). No calculator at Grade 5 (the Grade 8 test allows an online four-function calculator).
In 2024-25, 55% of Florida fifth-graders scored Level 3 or above — up 2 percentage points from the prior year (53%). The test is computer-adaptive on Cambium Assessment, untimed within the 80-minute session windows. FAST uses 5 performance levels (Level 1 through Level 5) on a 240-360 scale for ELA and Math, and 140-260 for NGSSS Science. Level 3 (Satisfactory) is the federal 'on grade level' target. Level 4 is Proficient and Level 5 is Mastery — both count as 'Level 3+' for accountability and school grades.
Up 2 ppt vs. 2024 (53%). Source: FLDOE 2025 Science + Social Studies results packet, August 2025 release.
Source: FLDOE 2025 Statewide Science + Social Studies Results, fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5668/urlt/85ScienceSocStResults25.pdf
Real Statewide Science Assessment format. Aligned to Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) — NOT B.E.S.T.. Detailed explanations on every answer.
Which property of matter can be measured using a balance?
Florida Grade 5 Statewide Science is organized around the four NGSSS 'Bodies of Knowledge' — Nature of Science, Earth and Space Science, Physical Science, and Life Science — each weighted roughly equally at around 25%. The test is cumulative across all of K-5 science content, not just fifth-grade material. NGSSS is the older standard set; B.E.S.T. has NOT replaced it for science.
| Reporting Category | % of Test | What's Tested |
|---|---|---|
| Nature of Science | ~25% | The methods and habits of scientific inquiry — observation vs. inference, hypothesis formation, controlled experiments, identifying independent and dependent variables, using models to represent phenomena, distinguishing evidence from opinion. Often shows up as 'which student designed the best experiment?' or 'what's the manipulated variable in this scenario?' |
| Earth and Space Science | ~25% | Weather and climate (clouds, fronts, hurricanes), Earth's structure (rock cycle, soil, water cycle, oceans), and space (solar system, phases of the Moon, Earth's rotation and revolution, stars and galaxies). Heavy on diagrams, weather maps, and Earth-Moon-Sun relationships. |
| Physical Science | ~25% | Matter (states of matter, physical vs. chemical changes, mixtures and solutions), forces and motion (Newton's laws basics, gravity, friction), and energy (forms of energy, transfer, simple machines, electricity, sound, light). Often paired with experiment-design items from Nature of Science. |
| Life Science | ~25% | Cells (basic structure and function), ecosystems (food chains, food webs, producers/consumers/decomposers), life cycles, classification (plants vs. animals, vertebrate vs. invertebrate), heredity (basic genetic vocabulary), and human body systems (skeletal, muscular, digestive, circulatory, respiratory). |
Three things parents must know about the Grade 5 science test that no FAST prep page makes clear. (1) It is NOT FAST. It is the Statewide Science Assessment aligned to NGSSS (Next Generation Sunshine State Standards), adopted in 2008 and never replaced by B.E.S.T. Prepping with B.E.S.T. ELA/Math materials does not help. (2) It is cumulative across kindergarten through fifth grade — five years of accumulated science content, not just Grade 5 material. The water cycle (Grade 2-3), classification of organisms (Grade 3-4), and Moon phases (Grade 4) all show up. (3) It is administered once per year in spring — there is no PM1/PM2/PM3 cycle for science. Grades 3, 4, 6, and 7 have no state science test at all in Florida; this and the Grade 8 Statewide Science Assessment are the only two K-8 science state tests in the state. All items are multiple-choice; the test uses 'context-dependent item sets' where one diagram or chart anchors multiple questions. Scoring is on a different scale (140-260) than FAST (240-360) but uses the same five performance levels with Level 3 as the 'Satisfactory' cut. Scores post to FRS within 24 hours.
Don't prep only fifth-grade content — the test is cumulative across K-5. The single biggest mistake Florida families make on the 5th grade science test is treating it as a Grade 5-only assessment. The blueprint pulls from kindergarten through fifth-grade benchmarks. A fifth-grader who has forgotten the water cycle (taught in second and third grade) or the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates (taught in third and fourth) loses easy points. Run a quick K-4 content review in March-April using Florida-aligned materials.
Practice with diagrams and charts, not just text. Many items are 'context-dependent (CD) item sets' — one diagram, chart, or short paragraph shared by multiple questions. Fifth-graders who only practice text-based questions struggle when items ask 'using the diagram above, which arrow shows...' Use printed weather maps, food-web diagrams, water-cycle diagrams, and Moon-phase diagrams as prep material.
Reinforce Nature of Science vocabulary early. The Nature of Science category (about 25% of the test) tests experimental-design vocabulary — independent variable, dependent variable, controlled experiment, hypothesis, evidence vs. opinion. Many fifth-graders know the concepts but stumble on the vocabulary. Drill the terms explicitly: which variable did the student CHANGE? Which variable did they MEASURE? What stayed the SAME?
Don't confuse this test with FAST. Multiple Florida parents and tutors assume the 5th grade science test is FAST and prep with B.E.S.T. materials. It isn't and they don't transfer. Use NGSSS-aligned materials only. Cambium's free released items at flfast.org cover the right standards. FLDOE also publishes the Grade 5 Test Item Specifications at fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5663/urlt/swsatisG5.pdf.
Take the two-day structure seriously. Unlike Grade 8 Science (one day, two sessions) or FAST (one session per administration), Grade 5 Science spans two consecutive school days. A fifth-grader who is tired, hungry, or anxious after Day 1 can underperform on Day 2. Sleep, breakfast, and a calm morning matter doubly here.
Neither. The Florida 5th grade science test is the Statewide Science Assessment, aligned to the older NGSSS (Next Generation Sunshine State Standards). FCAT was retired over a decade ago; FAST is the new reading and math test that replaced FSA in 2022-23, but B.E.S.T. has never replaced NGSSS for science. The 5th grade science test is administered on the same Cambium platform as FAST, but it tests different standards and uses a different scale (140-260 instead of FAST's 240-360).
Florida adopted B.E.S.T. standards for ELA and Math in 2020-2022, but never adopted B.E.S.T. standards for science. The NGSSS were adopted in 2008 and remain Florida's official science standards. There is currently no announced replacement, so the 5th grade Statewide Science Assessment continues to test NGSSS benchmarks. Parents and tutors familiar with B.E.S.T. ELA/Math should not assume the same standards apply to science — they don't.
Between 48 and 54 items total per administration. The spring administration also includes 8-10 experimental field-test items that don't count toward the score (your child can't tell which is which). All items are multiple-choice. The test uses 'context-dependent (CD) item sets' — one stimulus (a chart, diagram, or short paragraph) is shared by multiple multiple-choice items.
Up to 160 minutes total, given in two 80-minute sessions across two school days. Grade 5 students take one session per day, on two consecutive days, in spring. The test is untimed within each 80-minute session — most fifth-graders finish in 50-70 minutes per session.
Four NGSSS Bodies of Knowledge, each weighted roughly equally at about 25%. Nature of Science (experimental design, observation vs. inference, variables, models). Earth and Space Science (weather, climate, water cycle, Earth's structure, solar system, Moon phases). Physical Science (matter, forces and motion, energy, electricity, light, sound). Life Science (cells, ecosystems, life cycles, classification, heredity, human body systems). The test is cumulative across all of K-5 science.
No. Grade 5 Statewide Science is a no-calculator test. Only Grade 8 Statewide Science provides an online four-function calculator (embedded in the testing platform). At Grade 5, students should be comfortable with basic math operations from the science items — graph reading, measurement conversions (cm to m), and simple proportional reasoning — without a calculator.
Yes — all items are multiple-choice. Unlike STAAR Science (Texas) or some NGSS-aligned state tests, Florida Statewide Science does not use drag-and-drop, hot text, short constructed-response, or extended constructed-response items. The only structural variation is 'context-dependent (CD) item sets,' where one stimulus (a diagram, graph, or short paragraph) is shared by multiple multiple-choice items that all reference it.
Level 3 ('Satisfactory') or higher on the 140-260 scale (different from FAST's 240-360). The five performance levels are Level 1 (Inadequate), Level 2 (Below Satisfactory), Level 3 (Satisfactory), Level 4 (Proficient), and Level 5 (Mastery). Level 3+ is the federal 'on grade level' target. In 2024-25, 55% of Florida fifth-graders scored Level 3+ — up 2 ppt from the prior year.
Yes — confirmed by the FLDOE CAT FAQ document, which lists Grades 5 and 8 Science as computer-adaptive alongside FAST ELA, FAST Math, and the B.E.S.T. EOCs. The CAT engine selects each item based on your child's running ability estimate, the blueprint's category quotas (so all four Bodies of Knowledge get coverage), and exposure control. Two students will see different items, but the per-category percentage coverage is identical.
Same Statewide Science Assessment test, different grades and subjects. Pick the page that matches your child's situation.
No credit card. Unlimited AI-generated practice aligned to Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS) — NOT B.E.S.T..