Posted on: Friday, November 1, 2002

State's schools ranked 38th

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Hawai'i's public education system dropped in the rankings in a recent national report card.

Hawai'i ranked 38th in the Report Card on American Education, compared with 34th last year and 47th in 2000.

The report, released Oct. 24 by the American Legislative Exchange Council, based its rankings on scores from three national standardized tests: SAT, ACT and the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the state Department of Education, called the ranking "meaningless," preferring to focus on the summaries in the rest of the report that point out indicators of financial support and academic progress.

"Hawai'i, over the years, is making progress in terms of pupil expenditures but losing ground in real dollars on salaries for teachers," Knudsen said. "Those are the kinds of things that are valuable (to us) because it's in black and white. ... We can put that information to use."

The specific data in the report will be helpful in finding ways to improve the system, he added.

"This year's Report Card will serve as a valuable tool for Hawai'i state legislators as they debate the future of education," ALEC executive director Duane Parde said. "Now more than ever it's critical for America to focus on student achievement."

Wisconsin, followed by Washington, Minnesota and Iowa, had the best public elementary and secondary schools in the nation. Mississippi and Louisiana ranked at the bottom.