State’s schools
still lag in reform,
report says

The budget crisis 'may make
it tough for reforms,'
says Education Week

By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

The quality of public education in Hawaii continues to lag behind much of the nation, and a continuing budget crisis could set up more roadblocks for reform, according to a report released today by an education publication.

But much-needed detours could come in the form of educational system changes that include a new schools superintendent and a recently completed critique of the state's academic standards, Education Week's Quality Counts '99 report suggested.

The Quality Counts report ranked and graded Hawaii's public school system as follows:

Once ranked the second-worst in the nation in funding for public education, Hawaii moved up the scale a bit and is now seventh from the bottom of the list of 50 states, earning a grade of D+ for funding adequacy. Education spending per pupil amounted to $5,387, slightly less than the national figure of $5,906.

Hawaii, however, was ranked 16th and received a C for allocation, or how well money was spent. The report also said that 62 percent of education funds went to classroom instruction, one percentage point above the national average.

Efforts to improve teacher quality netted Hawaii 33rd place and a mark of C.

In academic standards, assessments and accountability, Hawaii ranked fifth from the bottom and received a D-.

The report said that Hawaii's Department of Education has been moving forward with plans to improve academic standards. "But an ongoing state budget crisis may make it tough to get very far," the report noted.

The report noted several changes in the education system, including the selection of Paul LeMahieu, a technical adviser to the 1998 Quality Counts report and an authority on school reform, as the new schools superintendent.

The Education Week report, coincidentally, is being released on the same day the Board of Education is scheduled to vote on whether to accept the findings of the Performance Standards Review Commission.

The commission spent the last year reviewing the 1,544 content and performance standards.

Some of this year's Quality Counts grades and test information haven't changed from last year because some of the information has not been updated.

Unchanged from last year were grades for school climate (F) -- which includes class size, parent involvement and student engagement -- and equity (A) in resources because no new information was available, the report said.