Gains in the number of Hawaii public school teachers rated as “;highly qualified”; are somewhat offset by the smaller number of them assigned to classes where they are most needed.

While the Department of Education continues to recruit and train teachers to comply with a federal law, it should be able to place them in schools where more students are at risk, perhaps by offering incentives. In addition, the teachers' union should be more open to such programs.

The department reported that more than 10,830 of 13,000 public school teachers have met federal qualification requirements this year. The increase from 8,997 last year came as the result of credential reviews and additional training.

The No Child Left Behind law had required that all public school teachers meet the standard in the 2005-06 school year. However, no state has yet reached that goal.

Some claim they have made great strides, but according to a report by Education Trust, a children's advocacy group, the figures they presented were higher than the numbers reported by teachers themselves.

Washington state, for example, reported that 98.8 percent of its core classes were taught by highly qualified teachers. However, teachers reported 58.2 percent. Hawaii's teachers reported a slightly higher number than the state - 68.9 percent compared to 68 percent reported by the state.

A more pressing problem is that schools with greater low-income student populations, considered the most at risk, had fewer qualified teachers, 87.6 percent, compared to 91.9 percent at higher-income population elementary schools. To reach achievement levels, this needs to change.