UPDATED 10/31/13 12:25 p.m.

The Hawaii Department of Education announced today that it’s had to revise 37 high schools’ Strive HI scores after finding flaws in graduation rate data used in part to evaluate how well schools are closing the achievement gap.

The findings come more than two months after the department released the results of Strive HI, the state’s new system for measuring school performance and improvement and uses rewards and interventions tailored to the diverse needs of the state. Those measures are used to rank each school, then placing them in one of five classifications. 

UPDATE: The new results change the classification of 11 schools, five of which have now been placed in a lower classification. Those five schools are Baldwin, Castle, Kekaulike, Hilo and Waianae high schools, which moved from “Continuous Improvement” to “Focus.” Ewa, Likelike and Barbers Point elementary schools, as well as Kona Pacific, Kanuikapono and Kalau Ku Mana charter schools have been bumped up to the “Continuous Improvement” group because the other five schools were moved. 

According to a press release, the data errors trace back to a “programming omission that incorrectly coded outcomes for 205 students.”

The department found that a smaller percentage of students graduated in 2012 than originally reported — 81 percent versus 82 percent. 

Graduation rates for some categories of students were significantly less than originally thought, including students with disabilities and English-language learners.

Here’s a breakdown of the new rates (with originally reported rates in parentheses):

• All students: 81 percent (82 percent)
• Disadvantaged: 78 percent (80 percent)
• Students with disabilities: 60 percent (73 percent)
• English-language learners: 52 percent (56 percent)
• Asian/Pacific Islander: 82 percent (84 percent)
• Black: 76 percent (76 percent)
• Hispanic: 76 percent (76 percent)
• Native American: 65 percent (65 percent)
• White: 78 percent (79 percent)

DOE Superintendent called the findings frustrating, adding that there is “no excuse” for the errors. The department said it is working on implementing processes to improve data integrity. 

Photo: A graduation ceremony on the mainland. (Courtesy of Nic’s events via Flickr.)

— Alia Wong