Hawaii Keiki Make Notable Strides in ‘Nation’s Report Card’

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The results from the federal government’s fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading tests are in.

And it looks like students in Hawaii are making more progress than their peers in most other states on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, better known as the Nation’s Report Card, which is released every two years.   

Hawaii students performed better than they did in 2011 in fourth- and eighth-grade math and eighth-grade reading. The only test that didn’t experience improved scores in Hawaii was that in fourth-grade reading. 

In terms of flat scores, however, Hawaii’s students are still underperforming their U.S. peers on three of the four assessments, which are each graded on a 500-point scale. Here’s Hawaii’s 2013 breakdown (with the national average in parentheses):

  • 4th-grade math: 243 (242)
  • 8th-grade math: 281 (285)
  • 4th-grade reading: 215 (222)
  • 8th-grader reading: 260 (268)

But with achievement increasingly focusing on progress rather than static measures of success — the state of Hawaii, too, is placing a greater emphasis on improvement with its new Strive HI school scoring system — Hawaii is turning heads. 

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan even singled Hawaii out in a press release commenting on the national results. 

According to a Hawaii DOE press release,  Hawaii has tied with Washington, D.C., in demonstrating the most “statistically significant” achievement gains in the country since 2003, making improvements in 13 assessments out of 20.  

Overall, Duncan said the report card shows “encouraging but modest signs of progress” in reading and math.

Here’s how Hawaii’s progress compares to the average progress in the U.S., measured in points:

  • 4th-grade math: 4 (1)
  • 8th-grade math: 4 (1)
  • 4th-grade reading: 0 (0)
  • 8th-grade reading: 3 (2)

The Nation’s Report Card tested a sample of roughly 3,000 Hawaii students from fourth and eighth grade for each assessment. A total of about 11,800 Hawaii students took the NAEP. 

Photo: Students taking a test. (Courtesy of Renato Ganoza via Flickr.)

— Alia Wong

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