Public Schools in Hawaii are getting better, but still have a long way to go.

One great concern for people moving to Oahu is the school system here, which has a terrible reputation. I've said many times that a lot of that is because Oahu schools are lumped in the school on the other islands. Kauai, Lanai, Molokai, and the Big Island have a lot of real local Hawaiian people, who often don't feel education is that important. they live a very relaxed life of fishing and hunting, and most of them are not well educated. All you have to do is drive around on Molokai for a while and you'll see what I mean. Beautiful island, nice people, but schooling is not high on their list of priorities.

So my point is Oahu schools aren't too bad. If we could take just the stats on Oahu schools and ignore the other islands, our stats would do a lot better. The top schools in the test scores are always Oahu schools. (although the last couple schools are always in Waianae.)

However, the Star reported

that Hawaii elementary schools are doing better in math and in reading than
middle-schoolers, but test scores for the two groups remain below national
averages, according to results released yesterday. Fourth- and eighth-graders in
the islands improved their marks in both subjects in the 2007 National
Assessment of Education Progress from when the test was last given two years
ago. About 15,000 Hawaii students took the national exam last winter. The most
troubling performance came in eighth-grade reading, with 20 percent, or just one
out of five students, meeting proficiency, compared with the national average of
29 percent.

The things is that Oahu actually does have a lot of great schools that are as good as many mainland schools. These are usually in the wealthier areas (unfortunately) but not always. A good principle and faculty can make a world of difference.

Usually the best schools are in Mililani Mauka, Hawaii Kai, Kailua (Aikahi Park) and for some reason, Sunset beach. There are also a few top schools in Aiea. You really have to judge case by case, rather than making a sweeping judgment of a city or area. Each school and each teacher is different.

Recently a brand new school was built in Ewa Beach at Ocean Pointe called Keoneula, which is supposed to be really high tech and great. But many of hte really old schools like Koko Head and Aina Haina are still in the top bracket.

The bottom line is that schooling is a high priority for our government, especially for our governor, and we're making progress. However it's difficult to know the actual results because of the schools from the other islands.