Florida · 2026–27 school year

Grade 10 FAST Reading

Understand the testing windows and graduation requirement, practice Reading benchmarks, and develop writing, speaking, and research through classroom activities. Sources checked October 1, 2026.

Start Grade 10 Reading practice

This shorter, untimed, independent practice is not adaptive, calibrated, official released material, or a complete simulation of official item types. Practice percentages cannot predict official scores or passing, and do not establish full-year mastery or mastery of writing, speaking, research, or collaboration.

Regular Grade 10 Reading schedule

Every PM assesses the full-year blueprint, even early in the year. The school sets the actual date within each statewide window. Each event is one session in one day; students still actively working may continue up to the end of the school day. A low early score does not by itself establish how a student will perform at year's end.

2026–27 regular PMs · the school sets the student's actual date
PeriodState windowSessionPurpose
PM1 August 10–September 25, 2026 90 minutes Beginning-of-year baseline
PM2 November 30, 2026–January 22, 2027 90 minutes Midyear progress
PM3 May 3–28, 2027 120 minutes End-of-year mastery

Official FAST Reading adapts at the passage/passage-set level. Students must answer the entire set before advancing; they may return to delivered questions and change responses. Changing an earlier answer does not replace later sets already selected. Mark for Review does not change the score or adaptation.

Official August 27, 2026 statewide schedule

Reading and the graduation requirement

Passing regular Grade 10 PM3 satisfies the Reading graduation assessment requirement; PM1 and PM2 passing scores do not satisfy it. Grade 9 entrants in 2022–23 or later need 247 (Level 3). The 2021–22 cohort has an alternate passing score of 246; earlier eligible cohorts need school verification of 246 or legacy pathways. Students still needing the requirement may use an eligible Reading retake or an approved concordant-score pathway. Ask your school counselor to verify your Grade 9 entry cohort, recorded scores, testing dates, and applicable graduation pathway.

Concordant scores: a new timing rule

The amended rule is effective August 25, 2026. Qualifying concordant scores earned before August 25, 2026 are grandfathered. For first-time Grade 10 students, newly earned concordant scores must be earned after their individual spring PM3 participation date in their Grade 10 year, across every concordant test. If that date is unknown, the end of the spring window may be used. A qualifying concordant score does not excuse required Grade 10 participation. Grade 11/12 transfers who were not in a Florida public school in Grade 10 are outside this timing restriction and need not first sit for a Reading retake. An unsuccessful Grade 9 attempt does not exempt a later first-time Grade 10 student. Missing PM3 does not make an earlier fall Grade 10 concordant score usable. Read the September 2026 official graduation table and September 3 FAQ with your counselor; cohort, earned dates, and score-combination restrictions matter.

September 2026 graduation tables September 3, 2026 concordant-score FAQ

Retakes for an unmet requirement

Retakes are separate from regular PM1–PM3. Current Fall/Winter eligibility includes retained Grade 10 students and Grades 11–12/adult Grade 30 students whose requirement remains unmet. First-time Grade 10 students use regular PMs. A retake is one 120-minute session in one day; actively working students may continue to school-day end under school dismissal policies. Confirm eligibility and your school's date; the statewide windows do not promise an individual number of attempts.

2026–27 Reading retakes · separate from the first-time Grade 10 PM schedule
SeasonState window
Fall September 8–October 2, 2026
Winter November 30–December 18, 2026
Spring May 3–28, 2027
Summer June 21–25 and July 12–16, 2027

Testing support and official results

Ask the school to confirm eligible IEP, 504, or ELL accommodations before testing. With the appropriate accommodation, directions, questions, and choices may be read aloud; Reading passages generally may not, except FDOE-approved unique accommodations. Headphones are needed for text-to-speech accommodations. Scratch paper may be provided; Reading Notes are not scored. Use the current August 7, 2026 accommodations guide with the school team.

August 7, 2026 accommodations guide

A disability waiver is not automatic for every IEP or 504 student: the IEP team must determine that the assessment cannot accurately measure the student's abilities after considering allowable accommodations. A separate ESOL graduation pathway may apply to students enrolled in an ESOL program for less than two school years who meet other diploma requirements. Have the school verify eligibility against the current graduation guidance.

School-confirmed graduation waiver and ESOL eligibility

The official Family Portal reports scaled scores, achievement levels, and reporting-category information. Interpret these with the school and the current report guide; early PM results reflect testing against full-year expectations. Request the access code from the teacher or assessment coordinator (some district portals offer direct access). Codes reset annually in October. Local practice results are not official scaled scores or achievement levels.

Open the official Family Portal Current official guide to understanding reports Try the official sample and released-test platform

Writing and course-based assessments

Grade 10 FAST assesses ELA Reading. B.E.S.T. Writing is a separate assessment; the writing activities below are classroom support. End-of-course (EOC) assessments follow course enrollment and completion, such as Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology 1, or U.S. History. Confirm the assessments and dates that apply with your school.

Official B.E.S.T. Writing resources Official course-based EOC resources

Choose a Reading benchmark

These 13 codes are listed directly in the Grade 10 FAST Reading coverage table. Category ranges describe the official assessment, rather than weights for individual benchmarks or for this practice bank.

Reading Prose and Poetry (25–35%)

Reading Informational Text (25–35%)

Reading Across Genres & Vocabulary (35–50%)

The currently linked June 2024 ELA Test Design Summary carries a DRAFT watermark on Grade 10 coverage. The September 2026 Statewide Assessments Guide independently corroborates reporting-category ranges. Ranges apply to categories, not individual benchmarks; no formal Reading also-assessed mapping is published in this table.

17 classroom production activities

These additional curriculum benchmarks and K–12 expectations are unscored supports. Open an activity, produce the work in class or with a teacher, and review the observable checkpoints. Multiple-choice accuracy cannot establish productive or collaborative mastery.

ELA.10.R.3.2: Produce a faithful paraphrase

Read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in the Reading practice, then paraphrase its final paragraph for a classmate who has not read it. Change wording and syntax while preserving the relationships among sacrifice, responsibility, and democratic government. Cite the original speech and its source edition beside your paraphrase.

Checkpoints for review

  • A side-by-side comparison preserves the original meaning without adding a claim the speech does not make.
  • The product uses new syntax and wording, retains essential qualifications, and cites Lincoln and the source edition.
ELA.10.V.1.1: Integrate vocabulary in speaking and writing

After reading Before the Label Is Printed, prepare an independent museum-label recommendation in writing and explain it orally to a partner. Choose academic vocabulary learned during reading that helps express the evidence and its limits; later use that vocabulary again in a new discussion about a school source. This is an authentic speaking and writing task, rather than a required list of words to insert.

Checkpoints for review

  • Vocabulary is used accurately and intentionally to explain evidence, uncertainty, and reasoning in the written recommendation.
  • The oral explanation and later independent discussion integrate appropriate vocabulary naturally; a listener can explain what the terms mean in context.
ELA.10.C.1.2: Write a narrative with purposeful pacing

Use the conflict over Mara's museum caption in The Space Beside the Photograph as a starting point for an original narrative about a young curator facing an uncertain decision. Draft the scene, then revise its pace to create tension: slow a consequential exchange through dialogue and detail, and compress less important time. Submit both drafts with an explanation of the pacing choices.

Checkpoints for review

  • The narrative develops a consequential conflict, and readers can identify where the pace slows or accelerates.
  • The revision explanation connects particular changes in pacing to tension, mood, or tone using lines from both drafts.
ELA.10.C.1.3: Write an argument with evidence and rebuttal

Read both library-hours arguments in the Reading practice and write a recommendation for the library board using evidence from multiple sources. Support a precise claim with logical reasoning, rebut a substantial counterclaim with relevant evidence, and acknowledge limits in the shared attendance figures. Organize and elaborate the argument with purposeful transitions and a formal and objective tone; distinguish these fictional case-study facts from real local data.

Checkpoints for review

  • Claims draw credible evidence from both supplied sources with attribution, explaining how evidence supports the reasoning rather than merely listing quotations.
  • A relevant evidence-based rebuttal addresses the strongest counterclaim; logical organization, elaboration, transitions, and formal and objective tone serve the board audience.
ELA.10.C.1.4: Write an expository synthesis

Write an expository article for a school museum newsletter explaining why historical labels require both records and interpretation. Analyze information from multiple sources: Before the Label Is Printed and the literary museum case in The Space Beside the Photograph. Clearly identify each as an original classroom text, distinguish documented claims from the story's imagined events, and use purposeful transitions to connect their different approaches.

Checkpoints for review

  • The article explains relationships across both sources with attributed evidence and analysis rather than two disconnected summaries.
  • A logical organization and purposeful transitions guide the reader; tone and voice fit the newsletter task and do not present fictional events as historical facts.
ELA.10.C.1.5: Revise for a specific audience

Give your library-board argument to an adult or peer and ask whether a board member could understand the recommendation and evidence. Evaluate that feedback, optionally comparing an online editing tool's suggestions, and revise for this audience. Submit the before and after drafts with a feedback log explaining which suggestions you accepted, adapted, or rejected and why.

Checkpoints for review

  • The feedback log evaluates suggestions against the board's information needs instead of accepting every correction automatically.
  • Before and after excerpts show purposeful revisions to evidence, explanation, organization, or wording; the rationale identifies the specific audience benefit.
ELA.10.C.2.1: Deliver an evidence-based oral presentation

Prepare a three-minute oral museum-label recommendation based on Before the Label Is Printed. Present live to classmates or make a recording for teacher review. State a clear perspective, arrange findings logically, and cite credible evidence from the supplied source inventory while explaining its limitations. Use an observer checklist or the Secondary Oral Communication Rubric in the standards appendix.

Checkpoints for review

  • The live observation or recording shows coherent focus, logical organization, and credible evidence connected to a clear perspective throughout.
  • An observer records whether volume, pronunciation, and pacing make the content understandable, and the presenter identifies one concrete improvement.
ELA.10.C.3.1: Edit parallel structure, phrases, and clauses

Edit your museum newsletter draft using Lincoln's repeated structures as a mentor example. Add purposeful parallel structure and varied phrases and clauses without distorting meaning. Submit marked revisions and a clean draft that checks standard English grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Experiment with usage choices that improve flow; usage-rule flow remains a developing skill rather than an additional Grade 10 mastery claim.

Checkpoints for review

  • Marked edits show balanced parallel structure and varied phrase and clause types, with an explanation of each choice's effect.
  • The clean draft maintains meaning and correct grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling; read-aloud review identifies flow choices still being developed.
ELA.10.C.4.1: Refine a research question and synthesize findings

Begin with the question: How did the Gettysburg Address respond to the needs of its audience? Consult the Library of Congress transcript and National Park Service historical context, then find another relevant primary or reliable historical source. Refine the question as findings emerge; keep a source-evaluation log and produce a synthesis of multiple reliable and valid sources. Select the relevant sources instead of using everything you consult.

Checkpoints for review

  • The log shows the initial and refined question plus reasons for narrowing scope, and evaluates authority, evidence, relevance, reliability, and validity of each consulted source.
  • The synthesis connects findings across selected sources with citations and identifies conflicting evidence or limits; rejected sources have a documented reason for exclusion.
ELA.10.C.5.1: Create a digital presentation of findings

Turn your historical-speech research into a digital presentation for classmates, delivered live or as a standalone slide or web document. Pair cited findings with an annotated excerpt, a sourced historical image, and a timeline whose design improves understanding of reasoning and evidence. Add readable text alternatives and credits for media; ask a peer what the presentation helped them understand.

Checkpoints for review

  • The digital presentation links each visual or media choice to a finding, reasoning step, or evidence; the audience can explain how it improves understanding.
  • Source credits, readable text, and text alternatives support access; peer feedback identifies and prompts revision of a confusing visual or claim.
ELA.10.C.5.2: Collaborate and export a publication-ready article

With a partner, use a school-approved online collaborative platform to create a museum-newsletter article for student visitors. Combine your source-based writing with a captioned, credited image or diagram and another useful multimedia element. Use shared editing and comments to divide work, evaluate revisions, and proofread. Export publication-ready quality writing as a PDF or web document with working credits and accessible media descriptions; keep the editable shared draft and exported copy for review.

Checkpoints for review

  • Shared comments or revision history show both learners contributing, resolving feedback, and tailoring the writing and multimedia to student visitors.
  • The exported publication-ready product has coherent layout, clean conventions, readable and credited media, accessible descriptions, and a final audience-focused review.
ELA.K12.EE.1.1: Cite evidence and explain reasoning

Produce a short comparison explaining how Lincoln's and Douglass's historical speeches address the responsibilities of their audiences. Cite specific evidence from each supplied edition and explain the reasoning that connects it to your interpretation. Compare how two existing style guides format a speech citation, then consistently apply the teacher's selected guide in your analysis.

Checkpoints for review

  • Each interpretive claim includes accurately attributed evidence and reasoning explaining its relevance; quotation and paraphrase are clearly distinguished.
  • The learner explains a difference between style guides and applies the selected citation format consistently, including author, speech, edition, and source.
ELA.K12.EE.2.1: Read and comprehend complex texts

Read the complete supplied Lincoln speech and the identified Douglass excerpt, along with The Unlatched Gate and a teacher-selected complete Grade 10 text. Keep an annotation portfolio explaining difficult syntax, implicit ideas, and ambiguous passages. With a teacher, consider quantitative measures, qualitative demands, and student-centered background and support needs together; a readability number alone cannot establish grade-level complexity or proficiency.

Checkpoints for review

  • Annotations and a teacher conference demonstrate comprehension of explicit and implicit ideas across complex literary and informational texts, including a supported interpretation of ambiguity.
  • The portfolio records quantitative, qualitative, and student-centered considerations and shows how the learner resolves a difficult passage using context and evidence.
ELA.K12.EE.3.1: Make and justify an inference

Read The Space Beside the Photograph and write an inference about why Mara changes her caption without replacing one certainty with another. Link details from different moments to your inference and explain the reasoning. Then compare another plausible interpretation with a partner and revise if the evidence supports it more strongly.

Checkpoints for review

  • The response separates what the story states from what the learner infers and cites relevant evidence from at least two moments.
  • Reasoning explains how the details support the inference; comparison with an alternative identifies what the text supports and what remains uncertain.
ELA.K12.EE.4.1: Discuss evidence with active listening

Hold a small-group discussion about the library-hours proposals, assigning a facilitator and evidence recorder. Practice active listening by accurately restating a peer's claim before responding, building on another idea, and addressing a counterclaim with shared evidence. A teacher or peer observes participation, or the group records the discussion with school permission; each learner submits a reflection supported by the observation notes.

Checkpoints for review

  • Observation notes show the learner listening accurately, responding to a peer's actual reasoning, and contributing a relevant evidence-supported claim or counterclaim.
  • The learner builds on an idea or propels the discussion and reflects on a specific collaborative choice; participation is reviewed rather than inferred from a quiz score.
ELA.K12.EE.5.1: Produce work in an accepted format

Produce the final historical-speech analysis in the teacher's chosen essay format, using a model and style guide to check title, paragraph organization, quotation integration, and source documentation. Exchange the draft for a format review, revise, and submit the final essay plus a checklist with examples from the actual product.

Checkpoints for review

  • The finished product follows the accepted rules of the specified format with consistent source documentation and readable organization.
  • A peer or teacher review identifies a real format issue, and the learner's checklist points to the revised passage or confirms why the existing choice meets the rule.
ELA.K12.EE.6.1: Choose voice and tone for audience and purpose

Adapt your museum-label explanation for two audiences: speaking to student visitors and writing a formal note to a museum curator. Keep the evidence consistent while choosing appropriate voice and tone for each purpose. Present the spoken version and submit both written scripts with annotations explaining changes in diction, sentence structure, and level of formality.

Checkpoints for review

  • The speaking and writing products use voice and tone appropriate to the stated audiences while preserving the same evidence and qualifications.
  • Annotations explain how specific language choices affect the audience, and feedback prompts a justified revision rather than a generic claim that the tone is appropriate.

Three optional Reading extensions

These unscored activities broaden structures, features, and devices beyond the selected examples in the practice bank. They revisit existing Reading codes and add no unique benchmarks to the 13-code direct inventory.

ELA.10.R.2.1: Extend analysis of structures and features

Build a small class source collection beginning with Before the Label Is Printed and teacher-supplied museum guides. Compare description, problem/solution, chronological, compare and contrast, cause and effect, and sequence structures. Across the collection, gather authentic examples of table of contents, headings, captions, photographs, graphs, charts, illustrations, glossary, footnotes, annotations, and appendices. Write an analysis explaining how multiple structures and features affect meaning; redesign a page and explain the effects. The scored practice demonstrates selected examples, not this entire repertoire.

Checkpoints for review

  • A labeled collection supplies actual examples of all six structures and eleven features; the learner explains how two structures work together in a text.
  • Before and after pages plus an analytical commentary explain how specific features change navigation, evidence interpretation, or understanding instead of merely naming them.
ELA.10.R.3.1: Extend figurative-language analysis of mood

Use The Unlatched Gate as a starting point, then write paired short scenes using metaphor, simile, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, meiosis (understatement), allusion, and idiom across a portfolio. Supply any background needed for an allusion. Ask a reader to describe the mood before and after a revision, and analyze the effects of the actual language. This unscored extension broadens the repertoire beyond the examples selected for scored practice.

Checkpoints for review

  • The portfolio contains identifiable examples of all nine devices, used coherently rather than inserted only to satisfy a list.
  • An analysis cites specific wording and reader feedback to explain how language creates or shifts mood, distinguishing reader feeling from the author's tone.
ELA.10.R.3.4: Extend rhetoric for a defined audience

Read Douglass's supplied excerpt as a mentor for rhetoric, then create and annotate contrasting appeals for a library-board audience. Review logos, ethos, and pathos, the nine figurative devices from R.3.1, and irony, rhetorical question, antithesis, zeugma, metonymy, synecdoche, and asyndeton across teacher-supplied or learner-authored examples. Compare a suitable appeal with a manipulative or unsuitable one and revise a device that weakens your purpose. This unscored task expands the selected practice examples; chiasmus is optional enrichment, not a named Grade 10 requirement.

Checkpoints for review

  • Annotations explain appropriateness of logos, ethos, and pathos for the audience and purpose, with evidence and an ethical alternative to an unsuitable appeal.
  • A device portfolio supplies the full named repertoire and analyzes effectiveness with specific language; the revised argument explains why one device now better serves its audience.

Use these for additional planning, vocabulary, and revision practice.

Dated primary resources

Checked October 1, 2026. Use the named document versions with your school; official pages and portal resources may be updated during the year. Historical speech editions are identified below and in the readings.