FAST stands for Formative Assessment System for Teachers and was created in 2010 by the University of Minnesota with a goal of making it easier for teachers to collect and use data more effectively. In early 2015, the company FastBridge Learning was launched, which included the assessment platform. FAST has been adopted by schools in 35 states, including a statewide adoption in Iowa. The FAST assessment system includes assessments of reading, math, and social, emotional, behavioral skills.

The table below indicates the FAST assessments that will be administered to all students during the Fall, Winter and Spring screening windows.

aReading is a computer-based, adaptive assessment that provides one overall score that is a measure of students’ broad reading ability. The following aspects of reading are measured within that one score (varies slightly by grade level): concepts of print, phonological awareness, phonics, orthography and morphology, vocabulary, and comprehension. This assessment consists of 30 items and takes 10 – 30 minutes on average, with students in grades 6 -8 taking slightly longer than students in grades 1 -5.

aMath is a computer-based, adaptive assessment that provides one overall score that is a measure of students’ broad math ability. The following aspects of math are measured within that one score (varies slightly by grade level): counting and cardinality, operations and algebraic thinking, numbers and operations in base ten, numbers and operations – fractions, measurement and data, and geometry. This assessment consists of 30 items and takes 10 – 30 minutes on average, with students in grades 6 -8 taking slightly longer than students in grades 1 -5.

earlyReading measures students’ foundational reading skills and provides one overall score of broad reading ability as well as individual subtest scores based on which subtests are administered. For the Fall screening window, the subtests are: Concepts of Print, Onset Sounds, Letter Names and Letter Sounds. For the Spring screening window, the subtests are: Letter Sounds, Word Segmenting, Sight Words, Nonsense/Decodable Words.  Each subtest is administered individually and takes approximately 1-4 minutes. The total testing time ranges between 4-16 minutes on average. earlyReading is available in English and Spanish.

For more information on FAST testing, please visit the MPS FAST Information for Parents.