Correction (July 21, 2026): The original article understated the English-learner improvement and the earlier military-connected comparison. It also called one complex area's gain the largest statewide even though most complex areas lacked the earlier endpoint, and it attributed the changes to housing conditions, services and cohort size that the rate file cannot test. This version corrects those claims, fixes five obsolete chart destinations and rebuilds the charts and claim ledger from fresh state-package output.

The graduation rate for Hawaii students who were homeless rose from 61.7% in 2018 to 76.7% in 2025. The 15.0-point gain ranked first among 19 state subgroups with rates at both endpoints; Hispanic students ranked second with a 7.0-point gain.

Over the same period, Hawaii's all-student rate rose from 82.6% to 85.8%, a 3.2-point gain.

A Smaller Statewide Gap

The gap between the statewide rate and the rate for students who were homeless narrowed from 20.9 points in 2018 to 9.1 points in 2025. That was an 11.8-point reduction, more than half of the original gap.

The rate changes establish real movement in the reported aggregate measure. They do not identify whether housing programs, school services, identification practices or cohort composition caused it.

A Volatile Annual Series

The annual changes were a 4.6-point gain in 2019, a 2.9-point decline in 2020, a 5.3-point gain in 2021, gains of 0.5 and 0.1 points in 2022 and 2023, a 2.2-point decline in 2024 and a 9.6-point gain in 2025.

The final 9.6-point move, from 67.1% in 2024 to 76.7% in 2025, was the largest annual change in the eight-year homeless series. The package does not report homeless cohort counts, so it cannot show how much denominator size contributed to the volatility.

Different Directions Across Subgroups

Students in foster care moved from 76.3% in 2018 to 60.4% in 2025, a 15.9-point decline. Economically disadvantaged students rose from 77.8% to 80.9%, a 3.1-point gain. Students receiving special education services rose from 65.2% to 68.1%, a 2.9-point gain.

English learners rose from 68.8% to 71.3%, a 2.5-point gain, not the 2.2 points reported in the original article. Military-connected students moved from 98.9% to 93.8%, a 5.1-point decline.

The military-connected rate was 17.1 points above the rate for students who were homeless in 2025. The corresponding gap in 2018 was 37.2 points. The aggregate comparison does not establish that housing stability caused either rate.

Complex-Area Results

All 16 complex areas reported a 2025 rate for students who were homeless. Kapaa-Kauai-Waimea was highest at 92.5%, while Kaimuki-McKinley-Roosevelt was lowest at 57.1%, a 35.4-point spread. Kailua-Kalaheo and Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua were both at 63.1%.

Only four complex areas had both 2018 and 2025 rows. Within that complete endpoint panel, Farrington-Kaiser-Kalani had the largest gain, rising from 43.7% to 63.3%, or 19.6 points. That result cannot support the original claim that it led every complex area because most areas lacked the earlier value.

Detailed code that reproduces the analysis and figures in this article is available exclusively to EdTribune subscribers.