Test scores no better since
Waialae became charter

A second study of the school's status
again criticizes governance

Students at Hawaii's first public charter school are performing no better on achievement tests since the school converted to charter status in 1995, and might be doing even worse in math, according to a state audit.

State Auditor Marion Higa's report on the Waialae Elementary Public Charter School also criticized the school's governing board as ineffective and "dysfunctional."

"We found no evidence to support the proposition that becoming a charter school has resulted in a better education for Waialae students," it said.

The report is the first detailed public assessment of a well-established charter school, a category that enjoys wide latitude on instructional and spending decisions.

Auditors compared test results of Waialae graduates attending the neighborhood middle school with other students, before and after Waialae received its charter.

While still among the highest-scoring students in the public system, "Waialae students no longer clearly outscore their peers the way they did in the pre-charter period," the report said.

The school's officials contend that standardized tests do not fully measure the quality of the education available at Waialae.

But the report faulted Waialae for not devising a credible substitute method for measuring the efficacy of its alternative instructional methods.

"The intent in establishing charter schools was not simply that they be allowed to innovate, but that they show students are achieving higher standards," Higa said.

Higa's office audited the Waters of Life Public Charter School on the Big Island in January, harshly criticizing its management as chaotic. That school is a startup charter school, which must provide for its own facilities, a factor that has tripped up some.

Waialae, meanwhile, was an existing public school that converted to charter status, which allows the school to continue using its facilities rent-free.

Higa said Waialae was selected for the audit to provide a complete look at the issues facing both kinds of charter schools.

The auditors saved their harshest words for the school's governing board, which they said "suffers from dissent, lacks structure and leadership, keeps poor records, and has not matured into a body focused on the school's long-term future."

The school and the Charter School Administrative Office generally agreed with the board's conclusions but defended the school.

"The real message is that the school has tried a totally new governance and curriculum and still done very well," said Jim Shon, the CSAO's executive director.

Shon said no one should have expected marked academic improvement at the school, which is in a higher-income neighborhood and already had a strong academic record.

"There are many reasons you might want to be at a charter school. It might be more fun," he said.

Most charter schools have long waiting lists for admission as parents and students seek an alternative to what many view as a hidebound Department of Education system.

The two charter school audits show that the state's current cap on new startups -- there are now 23, compared with four conversion schools -- should not be lifted any time soon, said Rep. Roy Takumi (D, Pearl City-Pacific Palisades), chairman of the House Education Committee.

"We need to take a serious look at addressing the issues out there first," he said.