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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 10:15 a.m., Wednesday, August 15, 2007

State releases school-by-school annual test scores

Advertiser Staff

The state Department of Education has released school-by-school results for the 2007 Hawai'i State Assessment, the annual test to determine whether or not Hawai'i's public schools make Adequate Yearly Progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law.

The results break down math and reading scores by grade levels for each school.

The latest results show 170 Hawai'i schools, or 60.3 percent, achieved "adequate yearly progress" as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation. Last year, 35.5 percent of the state's 282 tested public schools met the goals.

The results, however, were based on a new test, and some members of the Board of Education have questioned whether any comparisons between the current test scores and previous results are valid.

DOE officials say the new test has become grade-specific, allowing for a more accurate measure of how students are doing. But officials are having to fend off criticism that this year's improved scores are a result of "dumbing-down" the test.

More than 92,300 students took the test.

While the percentage of students reaching proficiency in reading and math has increased, the results also indicate growth in the number of students who are "well below" proficiency, officials said.

Proficiency is the primary measure used to determine Adequate Yearly Progress under the No Child Left Behind, which aims to have all students proficient in reading and math by 2014.

School-by-school test scores may be viewed on the state DOE Web site at: http://doe.k12.hi.us/