About 25,000 Hawaii public students in grades three through eight are going to soon be testing out “improved and more engaging” annual state assessments meant to better gauge their college and career readiness, according to a Department of Education press release.

The “Smarter Balanced” English language arts and math tests will officially replace the current statewide standardized tests next school year.

The field tests will be conducted at 91 schools, including a handful of charter schools, across the islands between March 24 and June 6. The experiment is meant to ensure questions are valid, reliable and fair, the press release says. A number of students in grades 9 and 10 will also participate. 

A multi-state consortium has brought together teachers, parents and higher education faculty over the last two years to develop the assessments, which are aligned with Common Core, a new set of education standards being used across the country, the press release says. 

Overall, more than 3 million students total are participating in the test run. 

The online tests are administered over multiple days and aren’t timed, though each subject area is estimated to take between two and half and four hours to complete. Students won’t receive their scores because sample questions may be revised or dropped after the study. 

“The work of Smarter Balanced is guided by the belief that a high-quality assessment system can provide information and tools for teachers and schools to improve instruction and help all students succeed — regardless of disability, language or background,” the press release says. Accommodations such as Braille will be available.

Participating schools can be found here.  

Photo: Smarter Balanced member states.