FAST stands for Formative Assessment System for Teachers and was created in 2010 by the University of Minnesota with a goal of making it easier for teachers to collect and use data more effectively. In early 2015, the company FastBridge Learning was launched, which included the assessment platform. FAST has been adopted by schools in 35 states. The FAST assessment system includes assessments of reading, math, and social, emotional, behavioral skills.
The table below indicates the FAST assessments that will be administered to all students during the Fall, Winter and Spring screening windows.
aReading is a computer-based, adaptive assessment that provides one overall score that is a measure of students’ broad reading ability. The following aspects of reading are measured within that one score (varies slightly by grade level): concepts of print, phonological awareness, phonics, orthography and morphology, vocabulary, and comprehension. This assessment consists of 30 items and takes 10 – 30 minutes on average..
For more information on FAST testing, please visit the SRMCS FastBridge Information for Parents.
The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) are statewide accountability tests in reading, mathematics, and science that are used to meet federal and state legislative requirements for students in grades 3 – 8. The tests are administered every year in the spring to measure student performance relative to the Minnesota Academic Standards. If you would like your student to not participate in state testing, please return the Parent Refusal Form before testing begins.
Parents/caregivers that would like students to opt out of MCA testing need to submit the MDE Parent Refusal Form to our Director, Annette Vemuri, by the start of MCA testing.