On Nov. 2, the Department Of Education shared how schools performed in the 2022-23 school year through the Strive HI Performance System results. McKinley’s scores were average, yet sufficient.
The Strive HI Performance System is an education assessment implemented by the Hawaii State Department of Education. It was created in response to the U.S. Department of Education allowing states to change some rules from the No Child Left Behind law. Hawaii’s education department developed Strive HI to replace outdated rules and improve support for students and schools. It looks at student performance and assesses if schools are doing a good job.
Although McKinley English results remained the same at 67% from 2022, McKinley outperformed the state’s overall English results, scoring 8% higher.
Students at McKinley showed improved proficiency in science, going from 26% proficiency in 2022 to 34% in 2023.
Math proficiency had decreased by 5 percentage points from the previous year, going from 30% to 25%.
The Strive HI results go beyond just test scores, they also reveal graduation rates. Last year, 88% of freshmen were promoted on time. Only 12 percent of freshmen failed one or two classes last year. Principal Ron Okamura said, “One thing that we’re really proud of this year is that our 9th grade retention went down to 12%. The previous years had been 25, 23%.”
However, McKinley’s absenteeism worsened. In 2023, 31% of students missed 15 days or more, an increase from the 28% in 2022. Okamura said he believes showing up to school seriously impacts a student’s test scores.
“If you’re not here, you cannot learn. If you cannot learn, you cannot do well on the test,” he said. This indicates the importance of attending school for both learning and performing well on exams.
Another challenge Okamura highlighted is getting McKinley students to take the test seriously. “It’s something that’s got to come from the students themselves,” Okamura said.
Although the test doesn’t count towards student grades or graduation, Okamura emphasizes, “The one thing that we want to see, and your parents want to see is where you stand as a student here at McKinley High School, in comparison to your classmates, district, island, and state.”
