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FAST Testing January 11 – February 12

FAST is a reading test, which stands for Formative Assessment System for Teachers. FAST is given to every student three times a year to identify students who are reading on grade level and those students who need additional help in reading. We additionally test math skills and concepts. Our second FAST of the year will be administered to every student in TK-5 from January 11 – February 12. During the FAST, the teacher will individually test each student.

Students in grades TK-1 will be tested on letter names and sounds, reading simple sentences, number of words read correctly in one minute—related to decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension, identifying individual sounds they hear in a word (eg. “at” has two sounds: /a/ and /t/), reading commonly used words by sight (eg. “the”), blending sounds together to read simple words. In math, students will be screened in earlyMath performance is an indicator, or “thermometer,” of student math development. It is designed to assess initial math skills that predict later mathematical performance.

Students in grades 2-5 are given the CBMReading test. This is an overall measure of reading skills where the student reads aloud a story for one minute. The teacher records the number of words the student reads correctly along with reading accuracy. CBMReading provides an overall indication of how well the student is reading and is related to other reading skills like decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Our measure of math is through our administration of CBMmath CAP, which is a timed computer-based assessment of applied and multi-step mathematics skills. It consists of math problems aligned with the Common Core State Standards. CBMmath CAP is designed to be used for universal screening three times a year with students in grades K through 8 and for progress monitoring students of all grades who are participating in interventions to improve applied math skills.

We are working hard to make sure that our regular classroom instruction meets the needs of all students so they have the potential to read on grade level. Students who score below benchmark may receive support within their classroom.