FAST Assessments

 FAST is the test which stands for Formative Assessment System for Teachers. FAST is given to every student  in grades K-3 three times a year to identify students who are reading on grade level and those students who need additional help in reading. We have just completed the Winter screener for the FAST assessments and the teachers will be going over that data with you at conferences nest week. Below you will see the various foundational reading skill assessed at each grade level K-3. 

KINDERGARTEN

Throughout the school year, Kindergarten students are assessed on a variety of skills that are essential to reading. The FAST assessment screens on the following skills:

● Reading letter names and identifying letter sounds

● Understanding concepts of print (eg. We read from left to right on a page.)

● 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

FIRST

Throughout the school year, first grade students are assessed on a variety of skills that are essential to reading. The FAST assessment screens on the following skills:

● 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 

SECOND and THIRD

Throughout the school year, students in grades 2 & 3 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.

For more information about FAST, please visit the Iowa Reading Research Center’s website at www.iowareadingresearch.orgunder the “Parents” tab. If you would like to see what the assessments look like feel free to contact me.