district-spotlight
Farrington High: 72.5% Graduation in Kalihi
One of Honolulu's largest high schools graduates barely seven in 10 students, with Pacific Islander rates below 50% and a 15-year gender gap.
Hawaii
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Hawaii, grounded in Hawaii Department of Education data.
Two in Five Students in Foster Care Never Graduate
Hawaii's foster care graduation rate fell 16 points since 2018 while every other vulnerable group improved, opening the widest equity gap in the state.
Hawaii Traditional Schools Shed 3,700 Students, Approaching 150,000 Threshold
Hawaii's county-operated schools lost 3,702 students in 2025-26, the steepest real decline on record. Traditional enrollment now stands at 150,280, down 15.1% from the 2014 peak.
Students Who Are Homeless Surged from 62% to 77% Graduation, the Fastest-Improving Group in Hawaii
The graduation rate for Hawaii students who are homeless jumped 15 points since 2018, cutting the gap with the state average in half and outpacing every other subgroup.
The Waianae Coast: Ten Schools Where Nearly Half the Students Don't Show Up
Ten schools on Oahu's Waianae Coast have chronic absenteeism rates between 42% and 55%, more than double the state average, driven by deep poverty and limited healthcare access.
More Coverage
demographics
Two in Five Pacific Islander Students in Hawaii Are Chronically Absent
Pacific Islander students in Hawaii have a 40% chronic absenteeism rate (29 percentage points higher than Asian students), and the gap has widened since the pandemic.
equity
68%: Pacific Islanders Face Hawaii's Widest Graduation Gap
Pacific Islander students graduate at 68.4% in Hawaii, a 17pp gap below the state average that has barely moved in nine years of tracking.
covid-impact
22 Hawaii Schools Have Returned to Pre-COVID Attendance Levels. The Other 269 Are Still Waiting.
Twenty-two Hawaii schools have fully recovered to pre-COVID chronic absenteeism rates, led by charter schools. But 133 schools remain 10 or more percentage points worse than 2019.
graduation-rate
90% Survival Rate, With an Asterisk
Hawaii's 9th-to-12th survival rate hits 90% for the first time, but a 2024 reclassification of students who receive special education inflated the count. The real gain is smaller.
demographics
At Nearly 9 in 10 Hawaii Schools, Native Hawaiian Students Miss More School Than Their Peers
Native Hawaiian students are chronically absent at higher rates than the overall student body at 88.7% of Hawaii schools, with a 25-point gap versus Asian students that has widened since COVID.
district-spotlight
Maunaloa Elementary: From 63% Chronic Absenteeism to 2% on a Remote Molokai Island
Maunaloa Elementary on Molokai dropped from 63% chronic absenteeism in 2022 to 2% in 2025, the second-lowest rate in Hawaii and 13 points better than its own pre-pandemic baseline.
graduation-rate
86% and Stuck: Why Hawaii's Graduation Rate Stopped Climbing
Hawaii's graduation rate flatlined near 86% after a decade of gains. A 17-point Pacific Islander gap reveals who the plateau leaves behind.
equity
Native Hawaiian Graduation Rate Falls to 80.3%
Native Hawaiian students lost 3.2 percentage points since 2021 while the state held steady, opening the widest equity gap in nine years of data.
demographics
458 More Seniors Than Kindergartners
Hawaii's K-to-12th-grade ratio fell to 96.2 in 2025-26, the second straight year with more seniors than kindergartners, as birth rate decline and a 2014 age cutoff change lock in further enrollment losses.
district-spotlight
Linapuni Elementary's Turnaround: From 92% Chronic Absenteeism to 28% in Three Years
Linapuni Elementary in Kalihi went from a 92% chronic absenteeism rate in 2022 to 28% in 2025, leading a neighborhood-wide attendance recovery in one of Honolulu's poorest communities.
