In past years, sophomores would spend one day of the year testing, while other students would continue on with their normal school day. This year, on Oct. 24th, the situation has changed, as all grades besides freshmen will be testing.

Seniors are required to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test, or the ASVAB. The juniors have a choice to take either the ASVAB or the PSAT, and the sophomores must take the PSAT. Instead of testing, freshmen will be listening to a guest speaker talk about subjects that high school students can learn about, like anti-bullying and teamwork. They will also be focusing on team-building exercises throughout the morning.

These changes are connected to the new graduation requirements put in place for the graduating class of 2023. The ASVAB is now available to fulfill one of the needs in Graduation Pathways.

Assistant Principal Amy Boone believes that this addition to the testing day will be extremely beneficial for all students. It will allow students to complete the testing while not interfering with any of their classes, as the day will technically not be assigned a red, white or black day.

According to Boone, the school did not want to disrupt any learning going on in classes, but they wanted to give every student an opportunity to participate in something that will have a positive impact on them.

“We have to make sure that we are setting everybody up for the best path for graduation,” Boone said.

Due to the different testing going on, the schedule for the testing date is changing as well. Students will test until 11 a.m., which is about when lunch would normally start. Students will then report to their fourth block class for lunch. In the last 45 minutes of school, students will go over some information about anti-bullying and watch a short video.