Educators puzzled by lower test scores

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer

Educators are puzzled that after two years of preparing for state performance tests, public-school students are not making more progress toward meeting basic standards.

The state Department of Education is analyzing the results of the Hawai'i State Assessment, a combination of state and national math and reading tests, to determine which schools need the most help.

But it is apparent after test scores released Thursday that students are having particular difficulty with the state tests, which probe deeper than the national multiple-choice exams.

Educators are concerned because all but third-grade math scores declined when students took the state performance tests in the spring. Students first saw the state tests in 2002, and the DOE set those results as a baseline to measure progress toward satisfying the federal No Child Left Behind law, which requires all students to be proficient in math and reading by 2014.

Many educators hoped the scores would at least remain steady or perhaps go up this year, prompting a new round of second-guessing about the standards and how teachers are supposed to help students achieve them.

"We have to stop and ask ourselves why the scores did not go up," said Greg Knudsen, a DOE spokesman. "We would really expect scores to be increasing at this point.

"When schools look at their own scores, that's where we will be able to see the patterns and where we can look for improvement."

A preliminary look at this year's test scores shows that at least 18 schools of nearly 300 statewide had half or more students meet or exceed the state math standard in at least one grade level. All were elementary schools or charter schools. Four elementary schools — Kahala, Noelani, Wilson and 'Aikahi — achieved that mark for both third- and fifth-grade students.

The scores were more promising in reading, with at least 87 schools having at least half their students meet or exceed the state standard for proficiency in at least one grade level, including 16 middle and high schools. Thirty-four elementary schools reached that level in both the third and fifth grades.

Four elementary schools — Kahala, Noelani, Wilson and 'Aikahi — had half or more students with proficiency in both math and reading.

Confronted with state and federal expectations and looming deadlines, schools and education officials are trying a variety of approaches.

At Ali'iolani Elementary School, teachers are concentrating on writing. They also frequently use words and descriptions from the state tests in conversation and lesson plans so students will be familiar with them when they take the tests.

More than 70 percent of fifth-grade students at the school continued to demonstrate proficiency in reading, and third- and fifth-grade students saw improvement this year in math scores.

"We really focused on writing last year," said Sari Kakihara, a school counselor at Ali'iolani. "It showed in our tests."

Amy Kwock, the principal at Ka'ahumanu Elementary School, said her school is focused on reading, setting aside 90 minutes each morning for uninterrupted instruction. Some of the students are immigrants from the Pacific Islands and just starting to learn English and the American lifestyle.

"Sometimes they can read the words or sound out the sentences, but they don't have the experiences and they don't understand how to connect it with their lives," Kwock said.

Test scores sometimes create more mysteries than they solve.

The school's third-grade students did better this year in both math and reading, while fifth-grade students declined a bit in reading but dropped noticeably in math. According to the DOE's results, 20.9 percent of Ka'ahumanu fifth-grade students met or exceeded the standard in math this year, down from 35.5 percent who were proficient in 2002.

"The school is making a concentrated effort," Kwock said, adding that several variables should be taken into consideration — such as a school's demographic — before judging it by test scores. "It's not bad — considering," she said of Ka'ahumanu's performance.

The DOE would like to see smaller class sizes, especially at middle and high schools, or the development of schools-within-schools so students can get more personal attention from teachers and extra help from tutors. But large schools have often found it difficult to reduce class sizes without money to hire more teachers and build more classrooms.

The DOE also wants to invest more resources into professional development for teachers and encourage more parental and community involvement in education.

"We're not burying our head in the sand," said Pat Hamamoto, state schools superintendent. She cautioned that she did not want to see the urgency of improving test scores obscure broader learning goals.

"We owe it to our kids to give them the skills that they need," she said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.