Most grade-level scores trended upward but when it comes to federal progress standards high schools are still showing more room for growth.
More than 93,000 public school students took Hawaii State Assessment tests in April.
Most grades showed test scores trending upward compared to last year in reading, with proficiency ranging between 63 and 73 percent of students.
"Pleasantly surprised that students and schools did as well as they did given the fact that they had 17 furlough days this year. it's a testament to our educators, they always rise to the challenge," says Garrett Toguchi, Board of Education Chair.
Grades 6 and 10 took a turn downward in the reading category.
"As we get to the older years, scores tend to decline. I think part of it is there's emphasis on math and language arts in the high school years," says Toguchi.
As for math scores all grades taking the test posted higher results compared to last year though the proportion of students proficient in this subject was considerably smaller across the board. Those scoring in the proficient scale ranged between just 38 and 58 percent of students.
More than half Hawaii's public schools did not meet adequate yearly progress under "no child left behind" standards. however that's still better than last year, with dozens more passing the critical AYP mark this year.
"Obviously we need to look at what needs to be done in those areas of difficulty, but nlcb is a challenge because it has 37 indicators and any one of those indicators being not met can make you fail AYP," says Toguchi.
The biggest opportunities for growth tend to be in the older classes. Just five Hawaii high schools and seven combination schools -- either K-12 or 7-12 -- made AYP this test year. Kaiser High school is among them.
"Learning is important, schoolwork is important, so focus that first. Everything else is secondary to that we have a great athletic program, we have a great co-curricular program. But none of that matters unless the student is doing well academically," says John Sosa, Kaiser High School principal.
Scores have trended upward for nearly a decade though some point out test standards changed a few years ago in a way that could have favored inflated results if compared directly to tests from several years ago or to other mainland standards.
