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F.A.S.T Progress Monitoring

F.A.S.T Progress Monitoring

The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (F.A.S.T.) logo features the state outline.

Beginning with the 2022–23 school year, Florida’s statewide standardized assessments in Reading, Writing, and Mathematics will be aligned with the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.).

The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST), which includes VPK through grade 10 Reading and K through grade 8 Mathematics assessments, will be administered as progress monitoring assessments. Students will participate in these assessments three times per school year.

B.E.S.T. assessments that are not part of the FAST progress monitoring program include grades 4–10 Writing and end-of-course (EOC) assessments in Algebra 1 and Geometry.

FAST will test the following subjects:

  • ELA Grades VPK - 10
  • Math Grades K - 8

FAST VPK-2 will utilize Renaissance Star Assessments for all three progress monitoring sessions.

  • FAST K-2 Assessment Resources: 2025-26 FAST K-2 Fact Sheet ​​​​​​
  • FAST 3-10 for ELA & Math will be assessed through Cambium. It is the same testing portal utilized for computer-based FSAs and EOCs. Testing will look very similar from the admin, teacher, and student levels, but will now occur three times a year.

Common Questions & Answers

  • Yes. Students enrolled in Algebra 1, Geometry, Civics, Biology 1, & US History will still sit for an End-of-Course (EOC) exam in May. These subjects are not part of FAST Progress Monitoring.
     

  • There are three progress monitoring windows, called PM1, PM2, and PM3. 
     

  • Yes, paper-based accommodations will be offered for students with this accommodation on a current IEP or 504 plans. 
     

  • Yes, but only select schools will be chosen to participate in BEST ELA Writing this year. The state considers this to be a 'field test.' Schools selected for participation in the BEST Writing Field Test should know by October.
     

  • FAST Progress Monitoring is now all computer-based, including for students in VPK through second grade. Previous FSA testing was paper-based for grades 3-6 and was not administered to grades VPK-2. Testing is also now computer-adaptive, meaning students will be given different levels of questions depending on whether the previous question was answered correctly or incorrectly.
     

  • Student results will be reported in the Florida Family Portal.

  • For PM1 & PM2, the length of each test is as follows:

    • VPK-2: Up to 20-30 minutes per assessment
    • Grades 3-10 ELA: Up to 90 minutes
    • Grades 3-5 Math: Up to 80 minutes
    • Grades 6-8 Math: Up to 100 minutes