About this book
Give your sixth grader the confidence to succeed on both Florida FAST tests — Mathematics and ELA Reading — in one book.
This Smart Stars combined edition brings together ten full-length, standards-aligned practice tests — five in Mathematics and five in ELA Reading — that mirror the length, item mix, and question types of the real Florida FAST assessments.
Take a look inside
FAST — the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking — is the test the Florida Department of Education gives to students statewide.
- Delivery: a computer-based test taken online, given in progress-monitoring windows across the year.
- On the real test: students click, drag, type, plot points, and select evidence from reading passages.
- On paper instead of a screen: this book renders those same skills as clear, print-friendly items — with the same coordinate planes, box and dot plots, number lines, area figures, and reading-passage sets.
So the thinking is identical even though the answering is on paper.
What’s inside
- Ten full-length practice tests — five Mathematics and five ELA Reading, 36 questions each, 360 questions in all — with detailed Answers and Explanations after every test
- Mathematics coverage of every Grade 6 B.E.S.T. reporting category: Number Sense & Operations (integers, absolute value, fractions, decimals, ratios, rates, and percent), Algebraic Reasoning (expressions, equations, and inequalities), Geometric Reasoning (area, surface area, volume, and the coordinate plane), and Data Analysis & Probability (mean, median, IQR, box plots, and histograms)
- ELA Reading coverage across literary and informational texts, paired passages, and poetry paired with prose — with questions on central idea, author’s purpose, vocabulary in context, inference, text structure, figurative language, and text evidence
- A Grade 6 Mathematics study reference sheet up front, plus a Quick Answer Key for each subject for fast self-grading
Topics covered
- Integers and absolute value, including position and distance on the number line
- Multiplying and dividing fractions and decimals, and converting among fractions, decimals, and percents
- Ratios, unit rates, and percent problems, including finding the whole from a part
- Writing and evaluating algebraic expressions, solving one-step equations, and representing inequalities
- Area of triangles and composite figures, surface area and volume of rectangular prisms, and plotting points
- Statistics: mean, median, interquartile range, and reading box plots, dot plots, and histograms
- Central idea, theme, and author’s purpose across literary texts
- Vocabulary in context and word meaning from Greek and Latin roots and affixes
- Making inferences and citing the specific text evidence that supports them
- Analyzing text structure, point of view, tone, and figurative language
- Rhetorical appeals — ethos, logos, and pathos — in argument and informational writing
- Comparing paired passages and integrating information
Why parents and teachers choose Smart Stars
- Educator-authored: Every question and passage is written and reviewed by classroom-experienced educators, and no passage is reproduced from copyrighted work.
- Mirrors test day: Each practice test matches the official FAST item mix, question formats, and on-screen skills for its subject, rendered clearly for paper practice.
- Explanations teach the why: Math entries show the full worked solution and name the trap behind the top wrong answer; reading entries point to the exact evidence in the passage.
- Two subjects, one book: Five math tests and five reading tests together give a full year of focused FAST practice in a single volume — and the five tests in each subject step up in difficulty so no two feel like the same practice run.
