Friday, August 31, 2018

FAST Updates Before Fall Screening Window Opens Next Week

Please read the following information and updates regarding FAST implementation.

Roster Troubleshooting

  • Please review your rosters in FAST to ensure all students are present, with the correct grade and the appropriate teacher(s) who can access them. Do not be concerned about students showing up in extra locations/classes at this time. We have just identified a problem with lingering deleted enrollments that is in the process of being cleaned up over the next several days. We also want to focus our limited resources on making kids available to test first.
  • Please do not wait to review rosters until the day you plan to start testing. We will need as much lead time as possible to help troubleshoot and resolve problems in 400 district rosters! Remember that changes made today in your SIS are transmitted in the next nightly roster load.
  • District managers: The troubleshooting rosters article will be helpful. You can find it in the Iowa section of the knowledge base.
  • If a student is missing or not available to the correct teacher, submit a ticket via FAST. Please provide examples, including building name, grade, teacher name, and one or two students who are missing. It helps if you can also point to a specific class.
The last date to change default assessment for this school year is Aug. 31. Submit a ticket with the changes (one per district, please).

The Fall screening window is Sept. 3 - Oct. 12, 2018. Windows are six weeks to allow additional time for districts who have purchased math and behavior measures. We recommend planning a two-week window within each six-week window to complete the majority of your literacy screening. As always, ease into screening and be flexible in your scheduling in case you encounter problems.

If your district purchased additional measures or grades levels, make sure they are visible in FAST. District or School Manager: in addition to checking the rosters for appropriate grade levels loading, check assessment setup by clicking on Assessment Info > Assessment Setup to view measures and grades available. (Do not check everything there without first reading about assessment setup - items checked cannot be removed.) Submit a ticket if needed.













Communications and announcements coming directly from FastBridge are written for the national customer base. While they have great information, some may not be applicable in Iowa. Subscribe to the Iowa Early Warning system email list for critical Iowa-specific updates and news (like this message). To subscribe, click on: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/IACIO/subscriber/new?topic_id=IACIO_613. Please subscribe using your school district or AEA email address. Share this with the rest of your school's FAST users if you wish.

Caution: The new forums in FAST are intended as a space for community sharing of ideas about teaching and learning and not for troubleshooting, technical support issues or questions about Iowa requirements. They are only occasionally monitored or moderated by FastBridge and DE staff. Be aware that any information you read in the forums may come from other users, many of whom are not Iowa users. Their responses may or may not be correct. Always refer to the guidance in the Iowa section of the knowledge base, your district/school managers and the ticket system for issues related to rosters, staff setup, and ELI requirements for screening, intervention and progress monitoring.

Known issues with certification:
  • Please use Sight Words 150 for certification. Sight Words 50 is not currently recording certification results and there is no ETA for a fix since the Sight Words 150 certification is essentially the same.
  • Word Segmenting has an audio/text mismatch on the second certification. There is no need to report this, FastBridge is aware. Don't try and pass the second certification right now. For now, use the remaining certifications for the test to ensure you are comfortable and accurate on administration and scoring for the test. That’s the real reason for certification - to be sure you can produce reliable, accurate results.
The Iowa Support Team hopes that your school year is off to a good start, and that we will all experience smooth sailing.

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