Be Aware To Be Prepared
September 17, 2024 2024-10-17 11:29Be Aware To Be Prepared
The 2024-2025 school year tests are coming
Now that the 2024-2025 school year has begun, the FAST PM1 for Reading is ready to be taken by students. For 9th and 10th grade students, the test is given on September 17th. On that same day, 11th and 12th grade students who haven’t met their graduation requirements for reading also take the test. Students need a three or higher to pass this assessment, like most state tests. It is imperative that students meet this minimum as they will need it in their senior year to get their diploma.
FAST tests are to be administered three times a school year and administrated by the BEST (Benchmarks of Excellent Student Thinking) standards. The FAST tests are adaptive to the person taking it, meaning that if a student gets an answer correct, the test will become increasingly difficult and if a student gets the question incorrect, it will get easier until it’s on their level. Keep in mind that there is still much to be taught to these students throughout the year and their scores can improve drastically from PM1 to PM2 to the last FAST test, PM3. These tests are progress monitoring, so they are to see how much a student has learned and grown from the first test in September to the last one in May.
“I prefer the F.A.S.T testing over the old FSAs because it adapts to our answers, and it also gives us our scores back very quickly,” says Deerfield Beach High School sophomore Christoph Powell.
In winter of 2024, the FAST PM2 ELA is to be taken by freshmen and sophomores. There is also the FAST PM2 retakes if you missed the original date. There will also be mid-term exams for all grades starting December 17th through December 20th. These tests will be created by students’ teachers. You can exempt these exams once the forms open, but the date they open is to-be-determined. As for Spring 2025, writing exams will be assigned to Freshmen & Sophomores anywhere between late March and early April. Towards the end of the year, the FAST PM3 ELA tests will be taken. This is an extremely important test as the score you get on it determines whether a student will be in intensive reading the following year. There are also IB and AP tests along with EOC assessments. There are many AP courses at DBHS, including AP Human Geography, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics and more. The EOCs, however, only consist of Biology, Algebra 1, Geometry and US History.
All students must be ready to test to the best of their ability so they can proceed to the next grade with ease. Students must be prepared on the days of these tests and know when they are being tested so that they are more likely to succeed. A good breakfast, studying and a full 8 hours or more of sleep will allow them to be the best them they can be.
