Third grade pupils in the Aventura City of Excellence School were among the top performers in the reading and math portions of the annual FCAT examinations, according to data released May 21 by the state.

Pupils at Sunny Isles Beach Community School and Aventura Waterways K-8 Center scored above the county average in both tests.

The third grade FCAT reading test is considered an important benchmark and a pupil must achieve at least a ‘Category 2’ score to advance to fourth grade. Scores are divided into five categories, with Category 3 being ‘at grade level’ and Category 5 being top performance.

At the Aventura charter school, 95 percent of pupils scored at or above grade level on the reading exam, identical to last year’s result. Among the 97 who took the exam, 12 were graded in the top category and none was in the lowest category.

The 95 percent at-or-above rate is 24 percentage points higher than the Miami-Dade County average of 71. The county results showed a slight decrease in scores from a year ago.

In Miami-Dade, only Renaissance Charter and West Laboratory Elementary scored higher than Aventura's charter school. In each of those schools, 97 percent of pupils were found to be at or above grade level.

In Sunny Isles Beach, 78 percent of pupils scored at or above grade level in the reading exam. This is the first year of testing for that city’s new Community School. Of the 153 who took the test, a dozen scored in the top category and a dozen scored in the bottom category.

At Aventura Waterways, 72 percent of the 205 pupils were found to be reading at or above grade level, one point above the county average. Four pupils were rated in the top category and 20 were in the bottom category.

In math, Aventura City’s 95 percent at-or-above mark finished behind 10 other schools in the county, including Balere Language Academy and West Laboratory Elementary, each of which had perfect scores of 100 percent at or above grade level.

At Sunny Isles Beach Community School, 90 percent of pupils scored at or above grade level in math. Only one pupil scored in the lowest category while 25 scored in the highest category.

At Aventura Waterways, 86 percent were at or above grade level in math. Six were graded in the lowest category while 19 were in the highest category.

The Miami-Dade County average was 76 percent at or above grade level in math, a one-point increase over last year.

Statewide, 71 percent of pupils scored at or above grade level in reading, down one percent from a year ago, and 78 percent scored at or above grade level in math, up two percentage points from a year ago.

At the end of April, the state released the results of writing tests administered to fourth, eighth and 10^th grade pupils. Still to come are scores on reading, math and science exams given pupils in grades four through 11. It is the 10^th grade FCAT that students must pass to graduate from high school in Florida.

FCAT scores also are used for identifying high performing schools and teachers as well as schools that are in line for sanctions.

FCAT scores and details are available at http://fcat.fldoe.org.