Success of new charter schools uneven, test show

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Standardized test results for Hawai'i's fledgling charter schools show wide swings in student performance, with many falling at one extreme or the other — either highly successful or well behind — in comparison to national averages.

The charter schools were promoted as a way to boost student performance and help set a struggling system on the path to reform. As a result, the recently released scores — the first indication of how Hawai'i charter school students stack up against students across the state and the nation — are a cause for concern in some quarters.

"Some of them were very disappointing, but then again, some of these schools are brand new," said Karen Knudsen, state Board of Education member. "It didn't come as a complete surprise to me ... But I hesitate to give a broad generalization for charter schools. Each charter school is unique. But it does concern me that so many of them didn't have a good showing academically."

• The Education Laboratory reported the best combined scores on the Hawai'i State Assessment test among all Hawai'i middle and high schools. More than 88 percent of its eighth-graders were proficient in reading and 73 percent proficient in math. Of its 10th-graders, 88 percent were proficient in reading and 68 percent proficient in math.
  
  And the school reported among the state's best results on the Stanford Achievement Test, with 90 to 100 percent of its students scoring average or above average in all grades tested.
  
  
• The curriculum at Kanu O Ka 'Aina Hawaiian Academy in Waimea stresses Hawaiian language and culture, but it doesn't exclude the basic skills needed to meet national and state standards. Still, half of the Big Island school's 10th-graders scored below the national average in math and 40 percent scored below the national average in reading.
  
  
• And at the middle-school level, the majority of the charter schools that participated reported scores that met or exceeded the national average in math and reading. But some schools were inconsistent: 100 percent of third-graders at The Volcano School on the Big Island, for example, scored at or above the national average in math; 70 percent of its fifth-graders fell below the national average.

"The test scores show a need, definitely," for improvement, said Donna Estomago, president of the Hawai'i Charter School Network and principal at Lanikai School.

Education experts point to several components critical to creating successful learning environments: sufficient money for buying books and supplies, consistency in programs and curriculum, experienced teachers, parental involvement and support, and a dedicated physical learning space.

Most charter schools, primarily the ones that have been in existence for less than three years, lack in all or some of these areas, experts say. When asked what the schools need to improve, those familiar with charters always come back to two basic issues: time and money — time to develop and solidify their programs and a more equitable share of public money with which to do it.

Sixth-graders at the UH Lab School illustrate a project on Netsilik Eskimos. While the school's success on standardized tests offers a promising prognosis for the charter school program, other charter schools are not doing as well. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Of the handful of charter schools that performed well in both math and reading on the SAT, three of them — The Education Laboratory, Lanikai School and Wai'alae School — have the critical components in place. All three schools also had been around for decades before converting to charter-school status. They have experienced, certified teachers and a proven curriculum that has been in place for years. Classes are small and learning is project-based. Administrators at all three schools praise parental support and involvement, saying the school community extends to the families as well.

Innovations and Connections public charter schools — which share traits with The Education Lab, Lanikai and Wai'alae — also performed well. Connections opened in 1995 and uses the same curriculum as The Education Laboratory. Innovations has a strong foundation, having emerged from an existing public school, Kahakai Elementary.

The Education Laboratory has set something of a standard by which other charter schools can be judged, experts say. It has been around for 51 years, the last two as a charter school. Among its strengths is an established curriculum for its 350 students from kindergarten through 12th grade that for years has won national and international acclaim. Its faculty develops and tests course work before publishing the curriculum and textbooks for worldwide distribution.

Jane Burke, principal of The Education Laboratory, attributes the school's success to several factors including parental involvement, quality of teachers, student learning environment and the values placed on education in the classroom. Though charter-school status means the school can experiment with a variety of teaching methods and approaches, Burke feels that teaching children the basic skills — reading, writing, math — is still at the forefront of education.

"I don't believe in focusing or teaching to the test, but we should align our curriculum to national and state standards," Burke said. "We certainly have to provide the education so they can make decisions on what they want to do, to take advantage of the opportunities provided to them."

That is also important to principal Ku Kahakalau of Kanu O Ka 'Aina Hawaiian Academy in Waimea, whose 10th graders scored below national averages in reading and math.

"While we need them to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture, we also need them to have skills to get jobs, to support their families, to become leaders," Kahakalau said. "The kids realize the importance of being able to read and write, and they excel in those areas. We put as much time as we can into improving those skills. It's definitely a challenge, but we do it."

Explanations for the range in scores are as diverse as the scores themselves, from financial constraints to student diversity. And many are issues that public schools don't have to deal with.

Some charter schools are just starting out and haven't solidified their curriculum. Experts say it may take up to five years of continuous operation to track progress for these schools.

"In a way (the varying scores) are not really surprising," said Nina Buchanan, an educational psychologist and professor of education at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo. "The schools on the list haven't all been in operation very long. The ones that are established, like The Education Laboratory and Lanikai School, are really strong. That's what you would expect."

Estomago said the schools' scores cannot be an indicator of progress because they don't have previous scores for comparison.

"You have to compare the school with where it's been," she said.

"The test is just an artificial means of measuring what's really going on inside the children," she said. "We need a benchmark, but it has to be looked at in a variety of different ways. It shouldn't be a measure alone for some of these schools, especially the ones that have just started up."

Lack of money and facilities is a big factor, experts say, making it more difficult for schools to meet children's needs. Currently, the state spends about $6,775 per pupil in public schools but only $3,800 in the state's 25 charter schools. However, Gov. Linda Lingle has vowed to correct that inequity.

Some of the schools do not have permanent homes. Not only do many have to worry about paying rent, but several schools already have had two or more homes in their short history. The Hawai'i Academy of Arts and Sciences in Puna, which operates from a church, must pack up and move out every Friday, then back in the following Monday.

Experts also note that charter schools are a cross-section of the community, often with a higher percentage of at-risk students, and usually are much more ethnically diverse than other schools. Many of the state's charter schools are Hawaiian immersion programs. The SAT has long been criticized as being too ethnocentric, ignoring the cultural and ethnic differences of the students taking it.

"We're getting the kids that regular public schools couldn't handle," said John Thatcher, administrator at Connections and adviser to the Hawai'i Charter Schools Network. "The students attracted to charter schools are the ones who have very little success in regular public schools. So it's expected that these kids are not scoring very high on the SAT test. A lot of them just don't function as that kind of learner."

Despite the schools' varying scores, most educators and advocates say charters should gain strength over the years.

"They're going to be good examples of how you can organize schools in different ways," Buchanan said. "When you consider the challenges they face, and you see the kids are happy and still achieving, this is a good sign."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8103.

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