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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, January 8, 2002

State gets low grade for early education

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

Possibly distracted by the Felix consent decree, an ongoing teachers contract dispute and budget cuts, Hawai'i officials may not have room on their radar screen for early childhood education, according to a national report released yesterday.

In the sixth annual "Quality Counts" report by Education Week magazine, early childhood education is a low priority for Hawai'i. The report is used by educators to rate and compare U.S. schools in categories that include standards and accountability, improving teacher quality and adequacy of resources. While the report did not rank states against each other, early childhood education was the focus of the study.

Despite some state efforts to improve access to preschool for disadvantaged children, there are great disparities in early childhood education, the study says. More than 70 percent of children in high-income areas arrive in kindergarten with some preschool experience, but only about 30 percent of kindergartners in low-income areas have attended preschool.

"With Hawai'i officials focused on a teacher-contract dispute, a worsening budget picture and a federal court order related to special-needs students, early-education issues have not been high on the state's priority list, some officials and advocates say," according to the study. "The state is putting most of its early-childhood efforts into improving access to preschool and child care for the most disadvantaged children."

A preference for daycare by relatives could be thwarting the state's efforts in early education for needy children, though, the study said. About 60 percent of the state subsidies for childcare go to relatives of the families, while studies confirm that high-quality early-education makes a difference in school performance later in life.

Moreover, childcare workers in Hawai'i earn an average of $14,500 a year, compared with a national average of $15,430. Preschool teachers earn an average of $21,680 compared with $19,610 nationally.

In 2001, 23 percent of the preschoolers in the state attended preschools accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

But while Hawai'i does not require children to attend kindergarten, it is one of eight states that provides a full-day kindergarten.

The survey noted that the state also plans to build 10 to 13 preschool classrooms each year for the next two years on public school campuses.

Hawai'i is also one of 18 states using Teacher Education and Compensation Helps. The program tries to raise the quality of childcare with education scholarships to caregivers.

Although it is not mentioned in the report, the Kamehameha Schools announced a major initiative last month for early childhood education of Native Hawaiian children.

School trustees have committed $21.5 million for the first year of outreach, and expect to spend between $50 million and $60 million a year on such programs within five years.

In a rating of other educational measures, Hawai'i measured up with mixed results against other states.

Hawai'i's standards and accountability system received a D-, the sixth-lowest score of the 50 states and District of Columbia.

Hawai'i scored 62 out of a possible 100. Maryland scored the highest with a 98, while Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana and Iowa scored lower than Hawai'i.

The Board of Education has developed performance guidelines, which measure how well students have mastered what they are supposed to know. But the accountability system is still in its infancy stage in Hawai'i.

A new Hawai'i-based standardized test for students in Grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 was supposed to be introduced last spring, but was derailed by a three-week teachers' strike in April. It will instead be given this April.

State schools chief Pat Hamamoto and other school officials vehemently disputed the D- score, though. "I have questions about how and what criteria used to determine that we deserved a D-," Hamamoto said.

The "Quality Counts" study in part relied on a June 2001 report by the American Federation of Teachers that said the Hawai'i standards were confusing. But since that report, the Board of Education has approved standards for science, language arts, social studies and foreign languages, Hamamoto said.

The department has also been providing handouts to teachers, doing training on teacher in-service days and providing information on the web for teachers.

"We feel we're much further along than we're given credit for," said Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen. "It's too bad they don't give some credit for having the plan in place."

Hawai'i also received a D- last year for standards and accountability.

The state did receive an A in equity of resources. It is the only statewide system of education in the country.

Hawai'i received a C- for improving teacher quality, a category which rated teacher education, professional support and training, and the average salary of teachers. The study also noted that Hawai'i ranks among the lowest in the nation on teachers salaries.

Spending of an average of $6,409 per student each year, Hawai'i rated a B- against the other states. New Jersey ranked the highest, spending more than $9,300 per student, while Arizona was the lowest, spending $5,000 per student. The national average was $7,079.

On the issue of school safety, 93 percent of fourth-graders and 88 percent of eighth-graders in Hawai'i reported feeling safe in school. But 45 percent of eighth-graders attend schools where a school officials reports that physical conflicts are a serious or moderate problem.

In 1999, 11.5 percent of Hawai'i high school students reported getting into a physical fight at school sometime during the previous year, and 6.7 percent reported that they had been threatened or injured with a weapon.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.