When is the HSA Science test given?

The test window runs from mid-February through late May each school year, and each school sets its own testing dates inside that window. The test is online and takes about two hours. Schools may give it once or twice; if a student takes it twice, only the higher score counts.

What do the questions look like?

Most of the test is made of item clusters. Each cluster starts with a real-world phenomenon, gives data such as tables, graphs, or models, and then asks several linked questions that require using science practices and crosscutting concepts, not just recalling facts. The rest are stand-alone items built the same way around a single task.

Hawaiʻi State Assessment in Science (NGSS)

What is the HSA Science test?

Q: What is the HSA Science test?

The Hawaiʻi State Assessment in Science (NGSS) is the statewide science test given by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education. It measures what students know and can do against the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the science standards Hawaiʻi has adopted.

Q: Who takes the HSA Science test?

Students in grade 5 and grade 8 take the Hawaiʻi State Science (NGSS) Assessment. In high school, students take a Biology end-of-course exam instead. The grade 8 test draws on performance expectations from the whole middle school band, grades 6 through 8, not only grade 8 topics.

Q: How does Project Koa prepare students for it?

Project Koa simulations are built in the cluster format. Students set up and run trials, the simulation records the results in a log, and the questions can only be answered from that evidence. Each simulation targets one NGSS performance expectation, and the library covers 41 simulations across grades 6, 7, and 8.

The HSA Science test is Hawaiʻi's statewide science assessment. This page explains who takes it, when, what the questions look like, and how to prepare, in plain language, with links to the official sources.

What it is

The Hawaiʻi State Assessment in Science (NGSS) is given by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) as part of the Hawaiʻi Statewide Assessment Program. It measures what students know and can do against the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the science standards Hawaiʻi has adopted. "HSA" stands for Hawaiʻi State Assessment.

Who takes it

Students in grade 5 and grade 8 take the HSA Science test. In high school, students take a Biology end-of-course exam instead. The grade 8 test is built from performance expectations across the whole middle school band, grades 6 through 8, so what students learn in 6th and 7th grade science is on the 8th grade test.

When it is given

The statewide test window runs from mid-February through late May. Each school sets its own testing dates inside that window and tells families its schedule. The test is taken online and takes about two hours. A school may give it once or twice; when a student takes it twice, only the higher score is kept.

What the questions look like

Most of the test is made of item clusters. A cluster opens with a real-world phenomenon, provides data such as tables, graphs, or models, and asks several linked questions. Answering them means using science and engineering practices (analyzing data, constructing explanations, arguing from evidence), disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts together, the three dimensions of the NGSS. The rest of the test is stand-alone items built the same way around a single task. Very little of it can be answered by recalling a definition.

How Project Koa prepares students

Project Koa simulations are built in the cluster format. Each one targets one NGSS performance expectation. Students set up and run trials, the simulation records the results in a log, and the questions can only be answered from that evidence; the directions say so on every simulation. The same simulation is written at three reading levels so 6th, 7th, and 8th graders work through identical science. The library currently holds 41 simulations covering 21 performance expectations; the standards coverage page lists every one. Simulations open with a class code issued by the teacher.

Official sources

Test windows and administration details are set by HIDOE and can change from year to year; check the official pages above for the current school year.

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