FAST Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield FAST facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which of the following best describes a thesis statement? → A sentence that states the central argument or purpose of an essay
2. Which tool would a Florida student MOST likely use to measure the length of a pencil accurately? → Ruler
3. A bar graph shows that 30 students prefer soccer, 20 prefer basketball, and 10 prefer tennis. What fraction of students prefer basketball? → 1/3
4. Which of the following best describes the primary purpose of a persuasive text? → To convince the reader to adopt a viewpoint or take action
5. A student's scores on five science quizzes are 88, 92, 84, 92, and 100. What is the median score for this data set? → 92
6. A student collects the following data on daily high temperatures (°F) for a week: 85, 88, 90, 85, 92, 88, 85. What is the median temperature? → 88°F
7. The ratio of boys to girls in a class is 3:5. If there are 24 boys, how many girls are there? → 40
8. In the number 77,245, how does the value of the 7 in the ten thousands place compare to the value of the 7 in the thousands place? → It is 10 times greater.
9. A number multiplied by itself, or raised to the power of 2, is called a ______. → square
10. A student measures the perimeter of a square with side length 7 inches. What is the perimeter? → 28 inches
11. Solve for h: 19h - 13 = 227 + 7h → 20
12. A store sells orange juice in two sizes: 16 oz for $2.40 and 24 oz for $3.36. Which size is the better buy? → 24 oz bottle
13. A student writes a paragraph with five sentences, but none of the sentences connect to the stated topic sentence. What is this problem called? → Lack of unity
14. What is the primary purpose of a thesis statement in an informational essay? → To state the central argument or main point the essay will support
15. A car uses 5 gallons of gas to travel 150 miles. How many miles can it travel on 8 gallons at the same rate? → 240 miles
16. A bag contains 5 red marbles, 3 blue marbles, and 2 green marbles. If one marble is drawn at random from the bag, what is the probability that it will be blue? → 3/10
17. A student writes: 'The storm was loud, wet, and scary.' Which revision best improves this sentence with specific details? → Thunder shook the windows as sheets of rain pounded the roof during the fierce storm.
18. The population of a city is 6,481,592. A news report rounds this number to the nearest hundred thousand. Which number was reported? → 6,500,000
19. On a map, 1 inch represents 25 miles. If two cities are 3.5 inches apart on the map, what is the actual distance? → 87.5 miles
20. What is the area of a triangle with a base of 10 cm and a height of 6 cm? → 30 cm²
21. When writing a narrative, sensory details are used to: → Help the reader experience the scene through sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste
22. A baker has 3/4 of a pan of brownies. She sells 1/2 of what she has. What fraction of the original whole pan of brownies did she sell? → 3/8
23. When an author reveals a character's thoughts and feelings directly to the reader, this technique is called: → Direct characterization
24. Which of the following values of x makes this inequality true? 3x = 2 > 14 → 5
25. A standard six-sided die is rolled once. Which of the following best describes the likelihood of rolling a number greater than 1? → Likely
26. The graph of a proportional relationship is a straight line that must always pass through which point? → The origin (0, 0)
27. Which of the following actions is strictly prohibited for a Test Administrator during a live FAST testing session? → Using a personal cell phone to time the test session.
28. May is donating towels to the animal shelter for dogs and cats in need. She finds towels in bulk for $45 for 25 towels. How much is she paying per towel? → $1.80
29. When revising a draft, a student should focus on: → Improving ideas, organization, and clarity
30. A price increased from $40 to $50. What is the percent increase? → 25%