HONOLULU — Hawai‘i’s public schools are not only recovering from the pandemic, but showing steady progress. According to the Hawai‘i State Department of Education’s (HIDOE) 2024-25 Strive HI Performance System report released today, students are making gains in science, math and language arts, while attendance and college enrollment are also on the rise.

“These results are a clear signal that Hawai‘i’s public schools are on the rise,” Superintendent Keith Hayashi said. “Our students are gaining ground in every core subject and more students are showing up to school ready to learn. With last year’s gains we expect to reach academic recovery from the pandemic this year. While this is not our destination, it is an important milestone — Hawai‘i is closer to recovery than many states. This growth reflects the hard work happening in classrooms across the state and the resilience of our students. We’ll keep investing in evidence-based practices and classroom supports that accelerate student success.”

In addition to academic achievement and growth, the annual Strive HI report provides a snapshot overview of how students are performing in such areas as on-time graduation and progress toward closing achievement gaps.

Key year-over-year 2024-25 Strive HI results

• Statewide science proficiency increased by 2 points to 43%.
• Statewide language arts proficiency increased by 1 point to 53%.
• Statewide math proficiency increased by 1 point to 41%.
• Statewide regular attendance increased 1 point to 76%, with gains across all student groups.
• Postsecondary enrollment for the Class of 2024 increased 3 points to 53% — breaking out of a four-year plateau at 50–51%.
• On-time graduation remained steady at 86%.

National Context

Hawai‘i is one of 13 states that administer the Smarter Balanced Assessments for language arts and math. Of the seven states reporting achievement results for 2024-25 to date, Hawai‘i is the state closest to academic recovery.

Education experts noted Hawai‘i’s progress stands out compared to other states. Earlier this year, a national study by researchers at Harvard and Stanford ranked Hawai‘i fourth in the nation for math recovery and second for reading recovery since the pandemic — underscoring the state’s rapid academic rebound.

“Many states have released their assessment results this year. Some saw improved performance, while others saw declines. Hawai‘i students have continued their upward trajectory for several years, which is rare,” said Scott F. Marion, executive director of the Center for Assessment. “Hawai‘i students have now surpassed 2019 proficiency rates in English language arts, and they are approaching 2019 levels in mathematics. Hawai‘i educators and leaders should be complimented for their consistent improvement.”

School Spotlights

Bilang karagdagan sa isang snapshot sa buong estado, ang bawat paaralan ng HIDOE ay tumatanggap ng ulat sa pagganap ng Strive HI. Nasa ibaba ang mga highlight ng dalawang paaralan na nakakita ng paglago sa mga pangunahing sukatan.

Waipahu Intermediate School

Over the past three years, Waipahu Intermediate has posted steady gains in all subject areas. Compared to last school year, Waipahu Intermediate saw an 11-point increase in language arts, a 5-point increase in math, an 8-point increase in science, and a 4-point increase in attendance.

Principal Alvan Fukuhara credits this success to a “whole school effort” that integrates core subjects into all classes, expands elective opportunities, and builds emotional connections with students. “Students have been seeing a lot more connections, not just learning math and literacy in isolation. They’re actually applying these concepts in all of their classes through elective courses,” Fukuhara said. “It’s a whole school effort.”

The school’s shift to a pre-academy model in 2022-23 aligned with Waipahu High School’s academies, and added new electives such as Business and Marketing, Health Services, and Teacher Education. Waipahu Intermediate is the only intermediate school in Hawai‘i to offer all five Career & Technical Student Organizations.

“We’ve been really doing work for students to gain confidence that they’re capable of doing great things. And everything that they do is a reflection of our school and our Waipahu community,” Fukuhara said.

Mataas na Paaralan ng Waiʻanae

Waiʻanae High School posted dramatic gains this year, with language arts proficiency rising 20 points and math proficiency climbing 13 points, compared to last year.

“Our (English language arts) scores went from 26 to 46 — an increase of 20 points. Our math scores went from 8 to 21 — an increase of 13 points. Our WIDA scores went from 7 to 17 percent. In all areas, we were moving as a school, regardless of groupings like special education or English Language Learners,” Principal Ray Pikelny-Cook said.

Pikelny-Cook credited the gains to a school-wide focus on three core instructional strategies: daily learning targets, academic conversations and formative assessments.

“Our demographics aren’t going to change, so we had to change something we were doing,” she said. “I don’t want my teachers to discuss the reasons why we cannot; I want them to discuss the possible ways we can.”

Pikelny-Cook also said the school made a concerted effort to shift its assessment culture to encourage more collaboration not only between teachers, but between teachers and students to make testing more festive. “When students can see teachers get excited about assessments, they get excited about it too. We have to have those opportunities for teachers and for kids to be talking, really collaborating, it comes down to building that culture,” she said.

About Strive HI

Strive HI was launched in the 2012-13 school year as the state’s locally designed school improvement and accountability system that offered flexibility from the former federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. It includes multiple measures of school performance including proficiency in science, math and language arts/literacy; attendance; academic growth; and graduation rates, reflecting key performance indicators under the 2023-2029 BOE Strategic Plan.

Ang mga ulat sa antas ng paaralan ay naka-post sa ARCH database. View the 2024-25 State Snapshot of Strive HI indicators. Learn more about the Pagsikapan ang sistema ng pagganap ng HI.