FAST Assessments

Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) - is a series of  assessment tools designed for universal screening, progress monitoring, and program evaluation Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) model of service delivery.  Iowa adopted the FAST literacy assessments to assist districts in the implementation of MTSS practices and in meeting the requirements of the Early Literacy Initiative as part of Iowa Code Section 279.68. 

FAST Assessments that are  currently used include: CBM Reading (Spring 1st - 3rd Oral Reading fluency) and early Reading (K-1 – Concepts of Print, Onset Sounds, Letter Names, Letter Sounds, Word Segmenting, Sight Words, Nonsense Words and Sentence Reading). The assessments are done one on one with students and teachers record data on the Iowa Tier web based system. 

The MTSS process depends on a balanced assessment system of valid and reliable universal screening and progress monitoring measures.  Students at Hanawalt participate in universal screening three times a year (fall,winter,spring). These screeners enables us to identify which students are on track to reach end of year goals  and which students may be at risk.  This practice aides us in identifying potential at-risk students as early as possible so interventions can be put in place. It also gives us data to use when identifying students that need acceleration or enrichment to meet our growth goals, as well as helping us evaluate the effectiveness of our core instruction.  The progress monitoring measures enable teachers to collect data more frequently on at-risk students in order to make decisions regarding the effectiveness of the targeted/intensive instruction.

You are welcome to contact me or your child's teacher if you would like to see examples of Fast Assessments or want to see your child's data. We are currently conducting the Fall universal screening and should have it completed by the end of next week. 

 Additional information regarding Iowa TIER and FAST, as well as Iowa Code Section 279.68 (Early Literacy Initiative), can be found on the Iowa Department of Education website.

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