FAST Assessments (K-7)

LITERACY

OVERVIEW (What is FAST?)

• FAST (Formative Assessment System for Teachers) is an assessment system used in most school districts across the state, as required by Iowa’s Early Literacy Legislation in grades K-3. 
• Running records, literacy inventories and other formative assessments are still important practices in Waukee. Formative assessment data is used to guide instruction and provide students with timely and descriptive feedback daily. The FAST assessments do not replace the authentic assessment practices underway in the district.  These assessments simply provide us with another piece of information as we work to meet the needs of every student.

GRADE LEVEL INFORMATION (What was my child tested on?):

• Kindergarten: Students are assessed in the fall, winter, and spring on a variety of skills that are essential to reading. The FAST earlyReading assessment is used in kindergarten and screens students on the following skills:
  • Concepts of Print (i.e. reading left to right)
  • Onset Sounds (i.e. pointing to the picture that begins with /z/)
  • Identifying individual sounds in words (i.e. at has two sounds /a/ and /t/)
  • Identifying Letter Names/Sounds

• 1st Grade: For the 2024-2025 school year, students are assessed using either earlyReading or aReading. Please note that the benchmark scores are different for each assessment.

• • The FAST earlyReading assessment screens first grade students on the following skills:
    • Word segmenting (separating words into individual sounds or phonemes)
    • Nonsense words (reading pretend words phonetically)
    • Reading sentences

• • The FAST aReading assessment is a computer-administered measure of broad reading skills developed to screen students. It is individualized for each student based on their skill and pattern of responses and includes the following skills:
    • Concepts of Print (point to the word, sentence, letter, etc.)
    • Phonological Awareness (Focuses on individual sounds in words)
    • Phonics and Decoding (Making connection to sounds and letters)
    • Vocabulary
    • Comprehension

• 2nd-6th Grades:  Students are assessed in the fall, winter, and spring using aReading. It is a computer-administered measure of broad reading skills developed to screen students. It is individualized for each student based on their skill and pattern of responses and includes the following skills:
  • Concepts of Print (point to the word, sentence, letter, etc.)

• • Phonological Awareness (Focuses on individual sounds in words)
  • Phonics and Decoding (Making connection to sounds and letters)
  • Vocabulary
  • Comprehension

IF BELOW PROFICIENT (My child is not proficient — What does that mean?):

• We are working hard to make sure classroom instruction meets the needs of all students. Additional data will be utilized to determine the specific needs of each student and targeted instruction will be designed. Students who score below benchmark receive additional considerations for support from their classroom teacher, and in some cases from a reading lab teacher.   Weekly progress monitoring will measure growth toward grade-level reading targets and instruction will be adjusted as needed.  
• According to the early literacy legislation, students are identified as being at-risk if their reading skills are below grade level on one screening test.  Students are identified as being persistently at-risk, if reading skills are below proficient on two consecutive screening tests.   We are doing weekly progress monitoring and interventions for students in both of these categories.  

MORE INFORMATION (How can I support my child at home?)

• For more information about early literacy, please visit the “Parents” tab on the Iowa Reading Research Center’s website at www.iowareadingresearch.org.  Coming this winter, they will be adding activities and information for you to use with your child at home.  

MATH

OVERVIEW (What is FAST?)

• FAST (Formative Assessment System for Teachers) is a math assessment used in a majority of school districts across the state.  In Waukee, FAST is given to every student in grades K-5 in order to best respond to students in the area of math.  It is a predictor of future math success.  

GRADE LEVEL INFORMATION (What was my child tested on?):

• Kindergarten: Students are assessed in the fall, winter, and spring on a variety of skills that are essential to math using the FAST earlyMath screener.  Composite and subtest benchmark scores are listed in the table below.  Students are assessed on the following skills:
  • Match Quantity – matching a numeral with the quantity it represents
  • Number Sequence – providing the correct oral sequence of numbers
  • Number ID – recognizing numerals
  • Decomposing – Identifying a missing part in a part-part-whole problem

COMPOSITE SCORES FOR earlyMath:

The best estimate of student early mathematics skill is the earlyMath composite score. The composite score is comprised of subtest scores from multiple tests administered during a universal screening period. These composite scores were developed to be optimal predictors of spring broad reading achievement in kindergarten and first grade.

The individual subtests included in the Composite were selected to assess skill in all three domains of early numeracy (i.e., Number, Relations and Operations) in each screening period, and weighted to optimize the predictive relationship between earlyMath and broad math achievement scores. Following the developmental trajectories of mathematics skills, more of an emphasis on the Number domain is seen in kindergarten, while more Operations skills are assessed in first grade. The composite scores should be interpreted first, followed by the subtest scores. A variety of patterns might be observed. Interpreting the subtest scores also provides a sense of each student’s strengths and weaknesses. It is common for students to perform consistently above or below benchmark on the Composite and subtests; however, it is also possible to observe that a particular student is above the benchmark on one or two subtests, but below the Composite benchmark. It is also possible for a student to be below benchmark on one or two subtests, but above the Composite benchmark. Although atypical, this phenomenon is not problematic. It occurs, in part, because a continuous score is dichotomized to indicate above or below benchmark. The recommendation is to combine the use of Composite and subtest scores in order to optimize the decision-making process. Overall, the Composite scores are the best predictors of future mathematics success.

Subtest weighting is indicated in the chart below by L (low), M (medium) and H (high).

• 1st Grade:  Students are assessed in the fall, winter, and spring on a variety of skills that are essential to math using the FAST earlyMath screener.  Composite and subtest benchmark scores are listed in the table below.  Students are assessed on the following skills:
  • Number Sequence – providing the correct oral sequence of numbers
  • Number ID – recognizing numerals
  • Decomposing – Identifying a missing part in a part-part-whole problem
  • Place Value – Identifying the place values and amounts of pictured objects
  • Story Problems – Solving verbally presented word problems

• 2nd – 5th Grades:  Students are assessed in the fall, winter, and spring using aMath. aMath is a simple and efficient procedure for screening students’ broad math abilities. The assessment is based on expert recommendations and each question is aligned with the National Common Core State Standards (2010). aMath is a computer-adaptive test and students respond to between 30 and 60 questions on each testing occasion.  Students are assessed over the following domains:
  • Number and Operations
  • Counting and Cardinality
  • Operations and Algebraic Thinking
  • Number and Operations in Base Ten
  • Measurement and Data
  • Geometry

IF BELOW PROFICIENT (My child is not proficient — What does that mean?):

• We are working hard to make sure classroom instruction meets the needs of all students. Additional data will be utilized to determine the specific needs of each student and targeted instruction will be designed as needed.  Students who score below benchmark receive additional considerations for support from their classroom teacher, and in some cases from a math lab teacher.