When the months of April and May roll around, students often start hearing an overwhelming load of information from many different teachers and staff. They hear things such as testing schedules, room numbers and dates for review camps. Students have to stay up late studying for their AICE and AP exams and have to focus on everything that is given to them between then and the test they are taking. These tests are ultimately just to see a student’s growth from the beginning to the end of the year. Depending on the test, they can even determine if a student can get into a certain class, college, etc.

      As of last year, there have been many improvements to state testing, including the platform itself. The main platform that the state of Florida is using for these end of year tests is FAST (Florida Assessment of Student Thinking). FAST focuses on assessing the reading and math skills of students. This test also is pretty different then the old FSA: it is taken 3 times throughout the course of a school year to see the growth in students. FAST is taken in grades ranging from 3-10. 

       Since this test is clearly very different from the others, when it comes time to take one out of the three tests there are different procedures then the old FSA. The FSA has been used a lot longer and was one of the very first state testing platforms to be used in Florida. FSA tested the same materials as the FAST and was graded the same way with a number scale: 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest. FSA, however, has more paper based elements and is only done one time in the school year. The FSA is based on all the knowledge from the year where FAST is based on sections throughout the year. Sophomore Maria Estrada thinks that the “FSA isn’t as inclusive to people that might have trouble passing the first and only time they take the exam.” The FSA is strictly one testing site whereas the FAST has other types of tests such as the BEST test for math and possibly other subjects. 

        The FAST test can ultimately allow students to have their test scores improve. Unlike any other test, this test customized each set of questions for each student. Freshman Izabella Garcia even thinks, “something that made the FAST test better than the FSA was that there weren’t as many questions.” Another change to this test is that it is entirely computer based. So sometimes the computers may be slow, and because of this it is important that tests are run beforehand so everything works smoothly the day of. This adjustment has caused many students to change their mindset for taking the test. Maria even says, “testing for the FAST was extremely boring…It was lengthy and I fell asleep right after I finished, and I had about 1 hour and 15 minutes left.” 

      Many students, however, can get anxious knowing the fact that they have to take three tests in a span of a few months so here are a few tips that can help with taking the new FAST test. 

1. Get to sleep at a reasonable hour

      When students get enough sleep they tend to focus and obtain more information on the test. Many students might even be in a better mood the next morning which can also be effective for their performance. The brain needs to be able to rest before it is used tremendously the next day. 

      2. Take your time when doing these tests

        The FAST test allows however much time until the test is completed. Once again, it’s important that the information is understood. Estrada then even mentions, “it’s something you hear often but it’s really helpful, because no matter how boring the text may be, it’s needed to answer the questions being asked.” 

      3. Always review before and during the test 

        Bring confidence to the test, that will really show what you know. Also it’s good to have information fresh in your brain, but make sure to study over periods of time so your sleep schedule is still on track. Izabella even said, “make sure you go back and double check your answers. That is what always works best for me.

     4. Always try the practice testing sites

        These are good for the FAST test because of the fact that there is not a whole lot of information as to what the student sees for the test. This will allow for the student to get used to where everything is, feel comfortable and also be able to see what type of questions may be on the real deal. 

       At the end of the day, as these sophomores and freshmen get to experience this new and improved testing site, the more information the head of the site will find out. For these students, they will ultimately feel so much more relieved knowing that they are almost done with their testing after taking each test throughout the year. Who knows, this new regime may be more beneficial for everyone.