Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Star Early Literacy
The Coordinated Screening and Progress Monitoring Program is the statewide, standardized program known as Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Star Early Literacy implemented in all VPK programs as required by s. 1002.68, F.S., that is used to assess student achievement of the performance standards established in s. 1002.67(1)(a), F.S., in early literacy and mathematics.
VPK Programs (school-year and summer) will begin implementation of the FAST Star Early Literacy beginning in the 2022-2023 VPK Program Year.
Technical Assistance
Renaissance has a new look, so you'll notice changes to the Renaissance website, resources, and Renaissance-U in the weeks and months ahead.
Renaissance System Support: Users who need Renaissance System support should contact the Renaissance Place Help Desk and Technical Assistance Team at 1-800-338-4204 or by completing this form for a Renaissance representative.
Policy Questions? Contact the Division of Early Learning with questions related to FAST Star Early Literacy implementation requirements. Select which best describes who you are: VPK Provider or VPK Parent and your information and questions will be submitted to the Division of Early Learning.
Communication
Important Update: The Division of Early Learning has created the VPK Guide to FAST for VPK Programs. This guide should be used for VPK Programs to find:
- How to locate your Renaissance VPK Testing Site
- Where to Complete Rostering and Obtain Login Credentials
- VPK FAST Training Requirements
- Customizable Family Letter
- Administration Schedule
- VPK Program Administration Task Requirements
- Providing Student Performance Results Requirements
- Support Contacts
Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Star Early Literacy Family Letter - Aug 3, 2022
Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Star Early Literacy Memo - May 20, 2022
Email to Early Learning Coalitions
Training
To be qualified as a test administrator, an individual must be employed by a private VPK provider or school district; and complete, and document completion of, professional development training that is designed to ensure the proper administration of the assessment.
For anyone that needs to complete the training requirements can do so through Renaissance-U, using the: FAST Star Early Literacy Renaissance-U Enrollment Guidance.
If you are new to Renaissance-U, when completing the enrollment form, you will be asked to provide your Employee ID, enter your DCF Student ID. If you do not have this please enter, 00000. You will also be asked to provide your Location, enter the Early Learning Coalition your VPK Program is contracted with.
If you are an existing Renaissance-U user, you will need to email fast_star@renaissance.com with a subject of “Update Renaissance-U Profile”, which must include your first and last name, email address, DCF Student ID, and early learning coalition location. This is so that your profile can be updated with the Employee Number field being updated to your DCF Student ID and the Location field to be updated to your early learning coalition (that your VPK Program is contracted with).
The Division of Early Learning will be working with the Department of Children and Families to have the VPK FAST Training Requirement listed on the DCF Transcript, as completed. Coalitions will have a Tableau report of participants by their coalition service area. Participants should carefully provide the correct information when registering for training so we can pull your records based on DCF Student ID and your coalition.
Additional Training through Renaissance
Smart Start and How-to Webinars are additional resources for Star professional learning. These resources can be accessed using the links below and through Renaissance-U. To access Renaissance-U, log into your Renaissance platform and select the Renaissance-U tile.
Smart Start is your self-guided journey through Star. Explore introductory videos and resources to help you master basic navigation and essential best practices. Use your students’ Star results to plan personalized instruction in three initial steps. You’ll be introduced to administering the test, using data from screening to group students, accordingly, and gleaning insights from the program to inform instruction.
Smart Start Link: https://renaissance.widen.net/s/lxl77bvw52/smart-start-landing-page_210318
How-to Webinars are live and on-demand (recorded), professional learning opportunities designed to help you get the most out of your Renaissance solutions. The webinars are generally 45 minutes to an hour in length. Whether you are a new user or need a quick refresher, these webinars are a quick way to get set up for success.
There are three webinars for each Renaissance product that offered throughout the year and are organized as follows:
- How to Get Started (GS)
- How to Interpret Data (ID)
- How to Enhance Instruction (EI)
How-to Webinar Link: https://www.renaissance.com/webinars/
Implementation
- VPK Programs (school-year and summer) begin implementing the FAST Star Early Literacy in the 2022-2023 VPK Program Year.
- VPK Programs are required to administer the assessment three times within its program and must be administered by a qualified test administrator.
- The assessment shall be administered individually or in a small group with no more than five students.
- The assessment shall be administered in English.
- The assessment shall be administered on a touchscreen device that is seven inches or larger with audio capabilities. Student headphones shall be used when administration occurs in group sizes of two to five students.
- A broadband internet connection (DCL, satellite or cable) is required for administration of the assessment.
- Testing accommodations shall be made in accordance with a student’s current Individual Educational Plan (IEP) of 504 Plan issued by the local school district.
- Each coalition and school district shall assign a staff member to register and serve as the coalition or school district administrator for the assessment on behalf of the coalition of district.
- The coalition and school district administrator shall access the vendor’s system reports during assessment windows to verify which VPK Programs have administered the assessment for PM1, PM2, and PM3.
- Early Learning Coalitions shall document attempts to notify private and public school VPK program that have not administered the assessment for PM1, PM2, and PM3 of the private and public school provider’s responsibility to do so.
- VPK Programs are required to provide a student’s performance results from the assessment to the student’s parents within seven calendar days after the administration of the assessment. VPK Programs must provide the Star Parent Report. The Star Parent Report provides a printable informational letter for parents or guardians and is available in English and Spanish. The link to running instructions can be found here: https://help2.renaissance.com/reports/25027.
Technology Needs
Do you have needs or questions about technology for implementation of FAST Star Early Literacy in your VPK Program? Your local early learning coalition has technology resources and is available to assist. Please contact your local coalition for additional details.
Administration Schedule
Private and public School-Year VPK programs shall administer the assessment during PM1, PM2, and PM3, as follows:
PM1: Is the first thirty (30) instructional days of the VPK class schedule beginning with the first VPK instructional day.
PM2: Is the period of time in a VPK class schedule where at least 40% of the instructional hours have been completed and no more than 60% of the instructional hours have been completed.
PM3: Is the last thirty (30) instructional days of the VPK class schedule ending on the last VPK instructional day.
VPK Program can use the FAST-Star Early Literacy Administration Schedule to know when they are required to administer the assessment.
Important Information: All 22-23 Summer VPK Programs will follow the below Test Administration Schedule:
VPK programs can print out the FAST Star Early Literacy 22-23 Summer VPK Test Administration Schedule.
PM1: Is the first ten (10) instructional days of the VPK class schedule beginning with the first VPK instructional day.
PM2: Is the period of time in a VPK class schedule where at least 40% of the instructional hours have been completed and no more than 60% of the instructional hours have been completed.
PM3: Is the last ten (10) instructional days of the VPK class schedule ending on the last VPK instructional day.
VPK programs will not need to set screening windows, Renaissance is calculating the screening windows for VPK programs within the system. VPK program administrators will need to contact their local early learning coalition to obtain their programs’ specific window of dates for each Progress Monitoring period for each VPK class in their programs.
Coalitions and VPK programs will need to customize the Reporting Period/Date Range for each VPK class’s individual progress monitoring dates for the progress monitoring period for which they are seeking results. When running each report, select the calendar icon for the Reporting Period/Date Range and select Custom to set your own dates for your VPK class’s progress monitoring dates, then select Apply.
Resources
VPK Program Administrators and Instructors should be familiar with the Administration Resources, Reports, and the Star Early Literacy Score Definitions.
Family Guide to Star Assessments along with the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) Star Early Literacy Family Letter - Aug 3, 2022 can be used to provide families with information related to implementation.
The following FAQs are available to coalitions, VPK Program administrators and teachers to assist with implementation.
FAST-Star Early Literacy FAQs Early Learning Coalitions Updated April 13, 2023
FAST-Star Early Literacy FAQs for VPK Programs Updated April 13, 2023
Florida Center for Reading Research VPK Teacher Resource Guide
Florida Center for Reading Research Student Center Activities Prekindergarten
Florida Early Learning and Developmental Standards and Activity Plan Crosswalk
Family Resources
First Teacher: A Parent’s Guide to Growing and Learning 4-Year-Olds
Florida Center for Reading Research Student Center Activities Prekindergarten
