Officials say scores
not whole pictureTest scores showed students
declined in almost all areas
Two of Hawaii's top education officials expressed frustration with public school students' poor test results but stressed that the scores don't tell the full story.
"Am I angry and upset that the scores are the way they are? Absolutely," said state schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto. "But the tests are a temperature check on the system and how we're doing," not the only indicator of the schools' progress, she said yesterday.
Hamamoto was speaking at a rare joint press conference with Joan Husted, executive director of the Hawaii State Teachers Association union, at the state Department of Education headquarters after Thursday's release of Stanford Achievement Test and Hawaii State Assessment scores.
The results showed declines in almost all areas for fifth-, eighth- and 10th graders. Third graders were the only group that improved their SAT scores across the board and in most areas of the state assessment.
The tests' disappointing results came a week after the department released its restructuring strategy for schools that fail to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates that every public school student in the nation be proficient in English and math by 2014.
Only about one-third of Hawaii's public schools meet No Child's criteria. Scores for the Hawaii State Assessment, which students took for the first time last year, track a school's progress with the federal law.
Husted said the aim of the state test and the federal law is to have students who "know how to read, write and compute."
"It isn't a case of making the test scores better," she said.
Both Hamamoto and Husted said the scores will not improve if resources for schools -- from the state and community -- don't increase.
"We've never really gotten the money needed to fund a world-class system," Husted said. "Our teachers want better professional development, the latest tools and competitive salaries. We need to reward them for staying in service."
Hamamoto agreed, saying that these are the "the kinds of resources that we need to get the job done."
Hamamoto stressed that there's a sense of urgency at the department -- and pressure on schools and teachers -- to comply with the federal standards, but she added that "learning doesn't happen overnight" and students can't be rushed into improved scores.
Despite this year's scores, she said the department hopes to comply fully with No Child Left Behind by 2010, four years earlier than the law mandates.
"Hawaii's public schools are getting better," she said, citing programs that promote hands-on learning. "All of our schools are taking a look at what needs to be done."
Husted said teachers and administrators at schools in low-income areas -- where students generally fared worse on both tests than their counterparts in wealthier schools -- face the biggest challenges to compliance with the No Child law.
In some cases, these schools don't even have wiring for computers or enough textbooks for every student, she said.
