New FAST Benchmarks and TIER Updates

New Updated FAST benchmarks were released through the TIER notification system on Aug. 24. These have changed since the DRAFT release earlier in the month on Aug. 11. The revised Early Literacy Universal Screening Benchmarks are dated Aug. 24.

To address some of the recent questions regarding the changes, we are providing the quotes from TIER as to "why" the benchmarks have changed. 

"Early literacy benchmarks (a.k.a. cutpoints) for the FASTBridge screening tools have been updated for the 2015-2016 year. This update is a result of the research and development team having an additional year of screening data on hand, therefore, a larger sample with which to identify target performance levels. These updates should lead to greater consistency between grade levels (e.g., 3rd to 4th, 4th to 5th, etc.) and between measures (i.e., CBMR and aReading). In general, aReading benchmarks are somewhat higher. "

The TIER knowledge base provides access to the most up-to-date information, benchmark scores, etc.

If you have any questions, please contact Wendy Robinson at wrobinson@heartlandaea.org.
 
TIER Slowdowns
The Iowa TIER site has been experiencing some slowdowns and other issues/bugs. Please remember to submit any issues TIER ticketing system.

If you want to do a quick status check on any of the TIER systems, this link provides that information.