First, FCAT is the only test administered in Florida schools that is specifically designed to measure the Sunshine State Standards. Second, FCAT is designed to represent the kinds of tasks and activities that parents and teachers expect as part of good instruction. This is accomplished in FCAT mathematics and reading tests by the type of information that students encounter on the test and the kinds of questions that students answer.

A final way the FCAT reading test is different from typical tests is that it requires students to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the information presented, and to apply strategies or procedures they have learned. The level of thinking required of students goes beyond the recall of facts and basic comprehension typical of many standardized test questions. To emphasize the thinking required, the performance tasks on the reading test are labeled "Read, Think, and Explain.