Don't kid yourself. Anyone involved in public education in Hawai'i is disappointed over the results from the latest report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

This is a key measure of how Hawai'i's education system stacks up against the rest of the country and also measures whether we are improving according to our own standards.

Bottom line: We performed poorly overall and have shown little progress since the last time the test was administered.

It's important to recognize that this test is a tool for educators, not a goal in itself. The purpose of education is not simply to do well on the NAEP or any other test. The goal is to produce well-rounded and productive citizens.

Tests are tools used to measure whether we are achieving that goal. The proper reaction to poor results is to determine what is missing or where we have missed the boat. Tests should help point to solutions rather than just identify problems.

Anyone with a favorite reform proposal will use the latest NAEP results to promote their ideas: Break up our centralized system, go to a system of vouchers, revamp the curriculum to focus on basics, pay teachers more and so forth.

As it happens, we have one proposed "solution" on the table that has at least tentatively launched. That's Act 51, the education reform package passed by the state Legislature.

Act 51 empowers local school administrators and sets in place a functioning school-community board with decision-making power at individual schools. It also shifts funding so that key spending decisions can be made based on student needs.

Even its most ardent supporters admit that Act 51 is a work in progress. Its most ardent critics suggest Act 51 is a shell game designed to give the appearance, rather than the reality, of reform.

What is clear is that Act 51 is a coherent and comprehensive approach to changing the way education is done in Hawai'i. It certainly deserves a chance.