Posted on: Thursday, September 23, 2004

Education snapshot — Kaimuki High School

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Education Writer

Math teachers at Kaimuki High School have seen some of their hard work pay off this year, with math scores for 10th-graders rising more than 10 percent. This year, 24 percent of sophomores scored at or above proficiency levels, compared to 13.6 percent last year.

The increased scores probably tied into an effort by Gear Up Hawai'i to better prepare students for college. One step is encouraging college-bound students to take more rigorous math courses and completing at least Algebra II before graduation, said principal Dennis Manalili.

What made the difference: "We offered a 'Discovering Math' course over the summer to some ninth-grade students, which bumped them up a level when they started school," Manalili said. "When they entered the ninth grade, they entered taking Algebra 1, rather than pre-Algebra."

How they did it: The school partnered with Gear Up, a federal program aimed at getting more low-income students to attend college. The course helped prepare entering freshman for high-school level math, which meant these students had learned more advanced math by the time they took the test.

Other factors: In addition to offering the summer course, the high school has worked to align its curriculum with the standards. The whole complex has also focused more on staff development using the Department of Education's standards toolkit, Manalili said.