Hawaii
Fewer than half of Hawaii’s keiki proficient in reading and math – West Hawaii Today
A new study reports that fewer than half of Hawaii’s students are proficient in reading and math and that Hawaii is ranked among the bottom third of states nationally for economic well-being, indicating a need for more state action supporting keiki and families.
The Kids Count Data Book, a report developed by the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, has shed light on children’s well-being across the nation since it was first published in 1990. While students’ lack of basic reading and math skills has been an ongoing problem for decades, the study read, the focus on learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted attention back to the issue, especially as chronic absence grew and economic instability rose.
“This year’s data suggests a concerning trend for Hawaii’s youth and that is they will continue to be the population who suffers when our state’s policies do not support the economic well-being of working families,” Hawaii Children’s Action Network Executive Director Deborah Zysman said in a news release.
According to the report, 35% of Hawaii fourth graders were at or above reading proficiency in 2022, a small change from 34% in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, 22% of eighth graders were at or above proficient in math, a significant drop from 28% in 2019.
Nationally, Hawaii ranked eighth in reading proficiency, compared with 28th in 2019, and 38th in math proficiency, compared with 42nd in 2019 — both improvements in ranking due to average proficiency rankings worsening nationally.
The link between student readiness and lifetime economic stability is also apparent, with many of the fastest-growing occupations requiring high-level reading and math skills “that we are not ensuring our children possess,” the study read.
“Just as underprepared workers are less competitive within our economy, an underprepared workforce makes America less competitive in the global economy,” the study read. “Persistent disparities further damage both individual prospects and the economy as a whole — at an enormous scale.”
The report also found that 39% of Hawaii’s students were “chronically absent” — meaning they missed 10% or more days of school in the academic year — in 2022, a jump from 18.5% in 2019. This statistic ranks Hawaii among the worst 10 states in the country for rates of chronically absent students. Additionally, 59% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students were reported to be chronically absent in 2022, aligning with data indicating students of color experienced higher rates of chronic absence.
While chronic absence has roots that have existed before the pandemic, such as housing insecurity, poverty and student disengagement, the study cites early research indicating that the pandemic “both exacerbated existing attendance challenges and introduced new ones,” like rising anxiety and mental health issues.
The Kids Count Data Book study has traditionally presented data across 16 indicators over four “domains” — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community factors — and ranks states accordingly, reflecting the interconnectedness between student performance and external conditions.
“When kids grow up in harsh economic conditions, education is really supposed to be the great equalizer to get them out of that when they’re adults,” Ivette Rodriguez Stern, junior specialist at the UH Center on the Family, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “When you look at our proficiency rates and the new data offered on chronic absenteeism, and then you look at the disproportionality with some groups, that’s a great concern, because if you’re growing up in those economic conditions and you’re not getting the educational opportunities to lift you out of that, then what does our future look like?”
Overall, Hawaii ranked 25th in the nation for overall child well-being — maintaining its rank from 2023 — and placed 20th in education, 15th in health and 18th in family and community factors. Each of these rankings fell as compared with 2023, from 19th in education, 13th in health and eighth in family and community factors.
However, the state improved its economic well-being ranking, going from 44th place in 2023 to 38th this year, although the ranking still categorized Hawaii among the “worse” category of states.
The ranking in the bottom third of states in this domain was heavily affected by Hawaii’s ranking of 47th in the housing cost burden indicator. According to the report, in 2022 almost 38% of Hawaii’s keiki lived in households that spent over 30% of their income on housing. In that same time, 28% of children in the state lived in families where no parent had full-time, year-round employment.
“It is concerning that too many children are living in families where parents lack secure employment. In addition, we continue to have among the worst housing cost burdens in the nation,” Stern said in the news release.
Additionally, Stern said this data indicates the profound effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic stability for families, as the data was collected post-pandemic.
With this new data, the report proposed various solutions and priorities for states — including ensuring access to “essential resources” like low- or no-cost meals and reliable internet access in schools, the availability of mental health care, and working toward improving chronic absence rates.
“It’s a concern to see some of the education data,” Stern said. “There have been improvements, but we’re still not in a good place, and that’s both as a state and as a country.”
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Heavy showers are moving through the islands Thursday night. The moisture is due to storm remnants from a former cold front. Trade winds are expected to push in a drier airmass into the islands this weekend, with drier than normal conditions through next week Wednesday.
Friday:
- Expect: Trade wind showers, mainly windward and inland areas of Maui County and the Big Island.
- Possible: Heavier showers on the Kona slopes of the Big Island.
- Chance of: Thunderstorms around Maui in the morning and on the Kona slopes in the afternoon.
Weekend:
- Expect: Enhanced trade wind showers, especially upstream of the Big Island and east Maui.
- Generally: Fair weather over Kauai and Oahu.
Next Week (First Half):
- Expect: Drier and more stable conditions statewide.
- Possible: Brief weakening of trade winds on Monday.
- Return of: Moderate trade winds on Tuesday.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new Aloha United Way report released today shows 1 in 3 Hawaii households considered moving away over the past year. Should the trend continue, it would have a devastating impact on our economy.
Hawaii’s high cost of living and lack of affordable housing mean more than half a million residents are barely scraping by.
That’s one of the findings from the 2024 State of ALICE in Hawaii report, which looks at the struggles of Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed households, known as ALICE.
First the good news: fewer Hawaii households are living in poverty — down to 12% versus 14% in 2022. ALICE households remained the same at 29%.
Advocates attribute the slight drop to government programs and increased minimum wages, but also more ALICE families are leaving the islands.
“180,000 people right now are considering leaving the state of Hawaii, from our workforce, from our younger families, our Hawaiian families, and that is something that we are deeply concerned about at Aloha United Way and of course, Bank of Hawaii and Hawaii Community Foundation.” said Suzanne Skjold, COO of Aloha United Way.
These working poor make too much to qualify for government aid and live paycheck to paycheck. Many are on the brink of financial crisis.
“This is absolutely critical, because affordability and just economic well being in our state is not where we need it to be,” said Peter Ho, Bank of Hawaii CEO.
So who is ALICE? They’re likely to be women or have children.
58% of native Hawaiians and 52% of Filipinos live under the ALICE threshold.
You’re more likely to be ALICE if you live on the neighbor islands. Maui is especially vulnerable, especially since the Lahaina fires.
“The people that are leaving hawaii are the people that can afford to leave their workforce and the people our engine. And if this continues, we’re going to have this hollow community where our engine is is just not there, right? And you’re gonna have very, very poor people, and we’re gonna have very, very wealthy,” said Micah Kane, President/CEO of Hawaii Community Foundation.
Advocates hope the report compels policymakers, businesses and community leaders to work together to reverse the trend.
“Employers will never be able to elevate wages and meet the cost of living requirements of this place,” Kane said. “Unless we come up with a host of very disruptive policies that drive down the cost of living, these people that are striking are going to leave.”
To fill gaps in services, Aloha United Way and other nonprofits are helping ALICE families access financial stability, affordable housing and higher paying jobs.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said he plans to lobby for ALICE-focused funding during this legislative session.
“We need to own this, all of us, and so from that standpoint this data becomes the argument you put on the table when you say we have to change,” Blangiardi said.
Some ways to ease the burden on ALICE families include tax credits, safety net programs, support for caregivers, mental health resources, debt reduction programs and financial incentives.
Read the full 2024 ALICE Report here.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As the debate over when and where to build Oahu’s next landfill continues, some are working toward phasing them out altogether.
Re-Use Hawaii is a local nonprofit organization that promotes sustainability and hopes to foster a circular economy through material reuse.
“The City & County of Honolulu announced plans for a new landfill, and this decision will shape Hawaii’s future in waste diversion and sustainability and directly affect our communities. At Re-Use Hawaii, we believe in less waste, more reuse,” said Executive Director Quinn Vittum.
The organization works to salvage reusable materials and return them to the community, and it’s the only licensed contractor in Hawaii providing deconstruction services.
“We aim to reduce waste by salvaging reusable materials, providing affordable resources to the community, and supporting green workforce development,” added Vittum.
Recently, Re-Use Hawaii opened a new location at Stadium Marketplace (4561 Salt Lake Boulevard) which was formerly Sack n Save, Castle Park.
“Our new location is three times larger than the previous warehouse in Kakaako, which operated for 18 years,” said Vittum. “It took approximately 260 truckloads to complete the relocation.”
A grand opening ceremony is slated for March 1.
Re-Use Hawaii plans to host sustainable businesses and other community groups that align with their mission.
In the meantime, the public is invited to come check out the new space Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The nonprofit said it’s planning to open seven days a week sometime in February.
To learn more, click here.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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