• Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Information

    For Parents
    This school year, the Florida Department of Education introduced the new Coordinated Screening Progress Monitoring (CSPM) System assessments. These include the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) for students in Grades 3-10 and the STAR assessments for students in Grades KG – 2.   

    • The FAST assessment system replaces the FSA assessments given in the Spring for Grades 3-10.
    • All assessments will be given on the computer and assess the state’s new grade-level standards.  These standards are called the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.).
    • The CSPM system will require all students in grades KG-10 to participate in three assessments, one at the beginning of the school year, one mid-year and one at the end of the school year.
    • The first two assessments are progress monitoring, which is given to better inform teachers about their students’ understanding of grade level curriculum during the school year.  This will enable teachers to better align their instruction to individual student needs. 
    • The FLDOE descriptions of each PM opportunity are as follows:
      • PM1 – because this administration occurs at the very beginning of the school year, it is designed to provide a baseline score so teachers can track student progress in learning the B.E.S.T. Standards from PM1 to PM2.
      •  PM2 – by the time of this administration window, students will have an opportunity to learn the grade-level standards and this administration will provide an interim score to compare to the baseline score from PM1. 
      • PM3 – this last administration will provide a summative score that will accurately measure student mastery of the B.E.S.T. Standards at the end of the school year. While PM1 and PM2 are for informational purposes only, PM3 will be used for school accountability beginning in the 2023–24 school year.
      • These assessments are not graded.
    • Computer testing allows schools to provide results to parents quickly so they can better monitor how their children are progressing and provide support. 
    • Parents should expect to receive the results of the first assessment during the first month of school.  Your child’s result will be provided along with a comparison to other students at the same grade level. The results will indicate if your child is performing on, above or below grade level.
    • Please contact your child’s school/teacher if you have any questions about the assessment results. 
    • Your child may benefit from additional reading and mathematics practice at home.  Your child’s teacher can offer specific suggestions as needed.   
    • Information about the FAST assessments along with sample items is available at the FAST assessment site under Students & Families:

     

    For Staff

    • This school year, the Florida Department of Education introduced the new Coordinated Screening Progress Monitoring (CSPM) System assessments. These include the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) for students in Grades 3-10 and the STAR assessments for students in Grades KG – 2.  
    • The FAST assessment system replaces the FSA assessments given in the Spring for Grades 3-10.
    • All assessments will be given on the computer and assess the state’s new grade-level standards.  These standards are called the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.).
    • The FAST system will require all students in grades KG-10 to participate in three assessments, one at the beginning of the school year, one mid-year and one at the end of the school year.  Testing for the first progress monitoring assessment (PM1) will begin on August 22, 2022.
    • The first two assessments are progress monitoring, which is given to better inform teachers about their students’ understanding of grade level curriculum during the school year.  This will enable teachers to better align their instruction to individual student needs. 
    • The assessments measure learning standards for the grade in which the student is enrolled.  For the first and second assessment period, students may or may not test well on certain standards that will be taught later in the year.  This is expected.
    • The FLDOE descriptions of each PM opportunity are as follows:  
      • PM1 – because this administration occurs at the very beginning of the school year, it is designed to provide a baseline score so teachers can track student progress in learning the B.E.S.T. Standards from PM1 to PM2.
      •  PM2 – by the time of this administration window, students will have an opportunity to learn the grade-level standards and this administration will provide an interim score to compare to the baseline score from PM1.
      • PM3 – this last administration will provide a summative score that will accurately measure student mastery of the B.E.S.T. Standards at the end of the school year. While PM1 and PM2 are for informational purposes only, PM3 will be used for school accountability beginning in the 2023–24 school year.
    • These assessments are not graded.

     

    Assessment Procedures:

    • All FAST and STAR assessments are administered online in labs for all three assessment periods.  All school labs have been set with the appropriate settings/links already.  These assessments must NOT be given in teacher’s individual classrooms.
    • In order to ensure the fidelity of the assessment administration across the three time periods, all standardized procedures must be in place:
      • Students should not have access to any electronic devices.
      • Test administrators must be trained and follow provided scripts exactly.
      • Students should not have access to or be exposed to anything that would affect their valid test performance.
      • Provide student accommodations that are listed in the students IEP, ELL Plan or 504 Plan.
      • FLDOE will provide additional testing information for ESE students in the future.

    Reporting:

    • Computer-based testing allows schools to provide results to parents quickly so they can better monitor how their children are progressing and provide support. 
    • By state statute, schools are required to send student reports home with students within 14 days after the student tests. 
    • Testing Coordinators and Principals have been trained and will provide further information about which reports are to be sent home with children.  These reports are:
      • KG-2 – Star Parent Report
      • 3-5 – Individual Student Reports
    • The individual reports to be sent home will provide a comparison to other students at the same grade level. The results will indicate if the student is performing on, above or below grade level.
    • In the first year of a new statewide assessment system, only certain information can be reported until standard setting takes place and new scale scores are established.
    •  For the 2022–23 school year, the following information for grades 3–10 FAST ELA Reading and grades 3–8 FAST Mathematics will be reported:
      • Provisional scores will be linked to an FSA equivalent scale.
      • Students will receive an overall scale score and achievement level for the overall scale score on the equivalent scale.
    • Students will also receive reporting category scale scores and achievement levels for reporting categories.
    • Teachers will see results, by benchmark, at the student and classroom level.
    • School and districts will see all results at the school and district level.
    • After the close of the window, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) will report percentile ranks at the student level for parents, schools, and districts.

    Additional Information:

    • English Language Learners and recently exited students from our ESOL program will be tested with an English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) teacher or a heritage language teacher. ELL students and recently exited ELL students will be provided a word-to-word dictionary during testing. Also, students will receive additional time to complete the test session within one school day in a separate room with other ESOL students, if needed.

    • If you have any questions about the assessments, please see your school assessment coordinator.  The district office will be providing ongoing support for all questions.