“Despite economic challenges and pressures, Hawaii’s public schools continue to move forward and defy the odds as demonstrated by this year’s assessment scores and Adequate Yearly Progress results,” interim Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said in a press release issued today.

Detailed school-by-school results will be released next month. As we reported earlier today, some educators warn against placing too much stock in one isolated indicator of a school’s success.

But for better or worse, the results of the annual test help determine the status of Hawaii’s schools under federal No Child Left Behind mandates. The ability to meet Adequate Yearly Progress targets determines which schools must undergo state intervention and restructuring. This year’s performance targets were 58 percent proficiency in reading and 46 percent proficiency in math. The goals are on an annual trajectory for 100 percent proficiency in 2014.

Each state sets its own standards for academic proficiency. The current grade-level tests, adopted by the Hawaii State Board of Education, were administered to grades 3 through 8 and grade 10 for the first time in 2007. Student proficiency levels, as determined by the state, showed dramatic improvement that year and have been improving steadily since then.

Forty-nine percent of the 286 schools subject to NCLB requirements met all of their AYP targets this year, up from 36 percent last year.

This is the last year students will be tested on paper. Next year, they’ll take the test online.