Grading the Public Schools
As part of our more-than-decade-long tradition of examining Hawaii’s public school system, we create a comprehensive report card on Hawaii’s public schools, ranking them using data from the state Department of Education.
Each time we compile this chart, we take into account two main factors: how much students are learning, and how happy everyone involved is at the way that learning is being accomplished.
Student performance is straightforward: We look at the percentages of students who are able to perform at or above grade level in math and in reading on the Hawaii State Assessment test. To gauge the happiness of students, teachers and parents, we turn to the annually administered School Quality Survey, to see how many of each of them report being satisfied, overall, with their school. Average these five factors together, and you get one total score.
How does your local school measure up? Find out in this year’s school chart. For more nitty gritty details on how we crunch the numbers, check out our legend, below.
Also in this issue, a look at how safe Hawaii’s public schools really are, and an examination of the state’s current approach to special education.
A Guide to the Chart
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# |
RANK • This list ranks public schools by overall score, from 1 to 255. |
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SCH |
SCHOOL AND DISTRICT • The statewide school system is divided into seven administrative districts, including Oahu’s Honolulu, Central, Leeward and Windward districts; the Big Island’s Hawaii district; Maui, Molokai and Lanai’s Maui district; and the Kauai district. |
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NCLB |
MET NCLB • Indicates, Y (yes) or N (no), whether a school is in good standing under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), according to standards set by the state DOE. Missing AYP (explained below) for two years in a row can result in corrective sanctions, up to and including restructuring. |
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AYP |
MET AYP • Indicates, Y (yes) or N (no), whether a school has met the performance benchmarks that measure Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in math and reading, participation and proficiency, graduation/retention rates, as well as other educational indicators, such as teacher qualification. |
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TEA |
TEACHER SATISFACTION • Percentage of teachers who gave an overall positive response to the Satisfaction section of the DOE’s 2012 School Quality Survey. The three questions were: |
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PAR |
PARENT SATISFACTION • Percentage of parents who gave an overall positive response to the Satisfaction section of the DOE’s 2012 School Quality Survey. The four questions were: • “I am satisfied with the variety of courses and programs offered at my child’s school;” • “I am satisfied with the quality of this school;” • “I am satisfied with how much my child is learning at school.” |
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STU |
STUDENT SATISFACTION • Percentage of students who gave an overall positive response to the Satisfaction section of the DOE’s 2012 School Quality Survey. The questions included: |
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READ |
READING • Percentage of students whose proficiency meets or exceeds Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (HCPS III) in Reading, the state DOE’s base line for determining whether schools meet academic benchmarks under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. |
| MATH | MATH • Percentage of students whose proficiency meets or exceeds Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (HCPS III) in Math, the state DOE’s baseline for determining whether schools meet academic benchmarks under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. |
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2013 |
2013 SCORE • Average of the five measures of satisfaction and student performance. |
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2012 |
2012 SCORE • As a comparison, we have also provided each school’s overall score from last year. |
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✓ |
2013 GRADE • A letter grade, based on a curve. |
