Testing season at Moanalua High School will include Smarter Balanced Assessments, a series of statewide tests and activities in Hawaii for all juniors. Due to the pandemic, the testing schedule will be different from last year since all students will not be able to take the test together. 

Developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), these tests are designed to give an indication of how well students are developing the skills that are needed to succeed in college and the workplace. In addition to the Smarter Balanced Assessments, Advanced Placement (AP) tests and the End of Course Biology exam for those who are enrolled in Biology this year will also be held in the fourth quarter.

“This year was tricky with scheduling due to the pandemic and students being separated into multiple blended learning groups, so we had to be creative when putting together the schedule,” Testing Coordinator Noel Kerr said. “We wanted to devise the testing schedule so it had as little impact on the student’s academic schedule as possible, yet still allowed them adequate time to complete the assessments.”

To keep the students safe during the pandemic, Juniors will be split into multiple smaller testing groups and each group will be given three different test dates for each Smarter Balanced Assessment’s language arts and math sections. The End of Course Biology exam will be held between April 26th to May 13th for students who are taking Biology this year. AP exams will begin in May, with students taking the test of each AP class accordingly.

The safety of students is a top priority during this testing period but Moanalua High School is large enough to allow for safe distancing. 

 “We are very lucky to have a space on campus to hold our assessments in a safe and secure environment that allows us to adhere to all State guidelines in regards to keeping our students safe when testing,” Kerr said.