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Special Program Students

Special Program Testing

Testing Opportunities for Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (PEP) Students (Grades 3-12) in 2026-2027.

Please read through all the following information carefully.

Registration:

  • Students must be registered appropriately with the Leon County Schools Home Education Office or be enrolled in a Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. 

  • If enrolled in Home Education, the grade on your registration form must match the grade in Focus.

  • PEP/Step Up for Students can register to take tests, but they can also visit the FDOE website for additional available tests:

  • Families will receive an email approximately two weeks prior to the testing window indicating where your child will test, along with the testing date and time. This email will be sent to the email address listed when registering.

Testing Locations:

  • Home Education or Private School student will be provided a schedule for testing at zoned schools.

While at the Testing Location:

  • At check-in, each student must provide a student ID that includes his/her full name and a recent photograph. Acceptable forms of ID are passports, military IDs, school IDs, state issued IDs, or a completed Leon County Schools Assessment Student Identification form. You will also receive a link to this form in the State Testing Information email you will receive two weeks prior to the start of the testing window. This email will include your exact testing date, time and location.    

  • Students must adhere to the Leon County School Student Code of Conduct while at testing sites.

  • Parents are not allowed to wait for their student(s) inside any of the testing locations.

  • Handheld calculators are not permitted, except for students who have this accommodation on their IEP or 504 Plan. In these instances, a calculator will be provided. Students taking assessments that allow a calculator will use the online calculator provided within the testing platform. 

  • All electronics must be turned off prior to testing or the student's test may be invalidated. Students are not allowed to have cell phones, smartwatches, or any other device that can access the internet while testing.

Scores:

  • Students, parents, and guardians can access scores through the Family Portal usually 24-48 hours after a student completes testing. You will need your student's first name, birthday and unique access code to log into the Family Portal. 

  • B.E.S.T. Writing scores will load into the Family Portal. 

  • Scores will be loaded to FOCUS when the official score file is received from the State. This is usually 4-8 weeks after the testing window ends. 

  • Scores are not provided over the phone or via email from the Testing Office.

Please contact Leon County Schools District Assessment Coordinaor, Kris Kolp in the School Improvement, Assountability, and Testing office at 850-487-7858, or send an email at kolpk@leonschools.net if you have any questions or to register for any exams. 

 

Fall Assessments

The fall assessment window is September 8th- October 2, 2026.

The deadline to register for fall testing is August 25, 2026

Assessments available include:

  • B.E.S.T. Algebra 1 EOC (Students currently enrolled in the year-long B.E.S.T. Algebra 1 EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)

  • B.E.S.T. Geometry EOC (Students currently enrolled in the year-long B.E.S.T. Geometry EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)  

  • Biology EOC (Students currently enrolled in the year-long Biology EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)  

  • Civics EOC (middle school students only) (Students currently enrolled in the year-long Civics EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)  

  • U.S. History EOC (high school students only) (Students currently enrolled in the year-long U.S. History EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)  

  • FAST Grade 10 ELA Reading Retake

     

Winter Assessments

The winter assessment window is November 30- December 18, 2026

The deadline to register for winter testing is November 16, 2026.

Assessments available include:

  • B.E.S.T. Algebra 1 EOC (Students currently enrolled in the year-long B.E.S.T. Algebra 1 EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)

  • B.E.S.T. Geometry EOC (Students currently enrolled in the year-long B.E.S.T. Geometry EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)  

  • Biology EOC (Students currently enrolled in the year-long Biology EOC course for the 2025-2026 school year will test in May.)  

  • Civics EOC (middle school students only) (Students currently enrolled in the year-long Civics EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)  

  • U.S. History EOC (high school students only) (Students currently enrolled in the year-long U.S. History EOC course for the 2026-2027 school year will test in May.)  

  • Florida Civic Literacy Exam (high school U.S. Government students only)

  • FAST Grade 10 ELA Reading Retake

     

Spring Assessments

The B.E.S.T. Writing Assessment window is March 29th- April 9, 2027. All other spring assessments will be administered May 3 - 27, 2027. Beginning with the 2023–24 school year, Writing will be administered during each spring administration. Writing scores are reported separately from Reading; they do not contribute to an overall ELA score.

Writing will be computer-based in all assessed grades, and prompts will be in response to texts.

The deadline to register for the Writing Assessment is March 15, 2027.

The deadline to register for spring testing is May 19, 2027.

Assessments available include:

  • FAST PM Reading (Grades 3-10)

  • FAST PM Math (Grades 3-8)

  • B.E.S.T. Writing (Grades 4-10)

  • Statewide Science Assessments (Grades 5 & 8 only)

  • B.E.S.T. Algebra 1 EOC 

  • B.E.S.T. Geometry EOC 

  • Biology EOC

  • Civics EOC (middle school students only)

  • U.S. History EOC (high school students only)

  • Florida Civic Literacy Exam (US Government students only)

  • FAST Grade 10 ELA Reading Retake

FAST will test the following subjects:

  • ELA Grades 3 - 10
  • Math Grades 3 - 8
  • FAST 3-10 for ELA & Math will be assessed through Cambium. It is the same testing portal utilized for computer-based FSAs and EOCs. Testing will look very similar from the admin, teacher, and student levels, but will now occur three times a year.

Common Questions & Answers

  • Yes. Students enrolled in Algebra 1, Geometry, Civics, Biology 1, & US History will still sit for an End-of-Course (EOC) exam in May. These subjects are not part of FAST Progress Monitoring.
     

  • There are three progress monitoring windows, and special program students may test in the thrid progress monitoring window (PM3).
     

  • Yes, paper-based accommodations will be offered for students with this accommodation on a current IEP or 504 plans. 
     

  • Yes, but only select schools will be chosen to participate in BEST ELA Writing this year. The state considers this to be a 'field test.' Schools selected for participation in the BEST Writing Field Test should know by October.
     

  • FAST Progress Monitoring is now all computer-based. Previous testing was paper-based for grades 3-6. Testing is also now computer-adaptive, meaning students will be given different levels of questions depending on whether the previous question was answered correctly or incorrectly.
     

  • Student results will be reported in the Florida Family Portal.

  • The length of each test is as follows:

    • Grades 3-10 ELA: Up to 90 minutes
    • Grades 3-5 Math: Up to 80 minutes
    • Grades 6-8 Math: Up to 100 minutes