[ OUR OPINION ]
Test scores spark hope
for improved learning
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Granted, the tallies were alarmingly poor when the Hawaii State Assessment exam was first administered three years ago. Nonetheless, scores this year establish that children are making progress and there is reason for optimism that they will continue to do better.
The test, the yardstick by which the state shows it is making headway in complying with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, is administered to students in grades 3, 4, 8 and 10. Results indicate that more students have gained proficiency in math and reading, although 50 percent or more still fall below that level.
Among younger children, improvement has been more marked. In reading, 47 percent of third-grade students were rated proficient, up from 42 percent in 2003. Fifth-graders did better with 50 percent at that level, an increase of 9 percent from the previous year. In math, progress was less dramatic; third-graders up at close to 27 percent from 24 percent and fifth-graders, 23 percent from 20 percent.
Students in eighth and 10th grade also improved, but in reading, only 39 percent of eighth-graders were proficient, and only 40 percent in 10th grade cleared the margin.
In math, a mere 20 percent of eighth-grade students and about 19 percent in 10th-grade were ranked competent, although both percentages were increases.
Troy Hashimoto, a high school student who sits as a non-voting member on the state Board of Education, attributes the lower scores among older students to indifference. Hashimoto told the Star-Bulletin's Susan Essoyan that because the assessment test does not count toward students' grades, "they don't take the test seriously."
Education officials say older children may not do as well because their early schooling was not based on content standards of the test. The Department of Education hopes to remedy this by redesigning instruction, but should also consider incentives, such as parental reviews or social rewards, so that students make earnest efforts to do well on the exam.
Although 50 percent or more of students failed proficiency, what is encouraging is that a good number are at the brink. Between 38 percent and 56 percent of all students were rated "approaching" -- the level just below proficiency -- in both reading and math. With a little more work and stimulation, they, too, may get passing grades.
