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.
Hawaii
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Hawaii, grounded in Hawaii Department of Education data.
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.
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.
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.
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.
More Coverage
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.
District Spotlight
Maui's Post-Wildfire Decline Slows but Won't Stop
Maui County lost 281 students in 2025-26, a fraction of last year's 807-student plunge. The wildfire spike has passed but the decline continues.
Enrollment
Hawaii's Crash Era Deepens as Losses Nearly Quadruple
Hawaii lost 3,425 students in 2025-26 after losing just 901 two years earlier. Six years into a crash era, the state has shed 17,437 students.
District Spotlight
Lahaina Schools After the Fire: King Kamehameha III Elementary's Quiet Recovery
King Kamehameha III Elementary, the Lahaina school destroyed in the August 2023 wildfires, has dropped its chronic rate from 67% to 24%, matching the state average, while other Lahaina schools lag behind.
School Choice
Hawaii Charters Cross 8% for the First Time
Charter schools now enroll 8.2% of Hawaii's public school students, but the 2026 gain of just 277 students signals a sector hitting structural limits.
Equity
Every Equity Gap in Hawaii's Attendance Data Widened After COVID, and None Have Closed
Every racial and socioeconomic gap in Hawaii's chronic absenteeism data is wider in 2025 than it was before COVID, and not a single one has returned to its pre-pandemic level.
Covid Impact
Elementary Schools Recovered Fastest from COVID Attendance Loss. High Schools Are Stuck.
Hawaii elementary schools have recovered 65.5% of their COVID chronic absenteeism spike, while high schools have recovered just 46.3%, and the gap between school levels is widening.
District Spotlight
Honolulu Is 1,341 Students from Crossing Below 100,000
Honolulu County has lost 20,854 students since 2014. At the current pace, Oahu will drop below 100,000 students by next year.
Equity
One in Three Low-Income Students in Hawaii Is Chronically Absent
One in three economically disadvantaged students in Hawaii is chronically absent, up from 21% before COVID to 32% in 2024-25.
