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MATH vs READING · HAWAII

Hawaii: where math and reading scores diverge

Hawaii public schools with the widest gap between math and reading proficiency. Same students, same test, only the subject changes.

Schools in this report
40
widest divergence in state
Most reading-ahead
-45 pp
Kealakehe High School
Smallest reading lead
-21 pp
Waipahu Intermediate School
HI PUBLIC SCHOOLS · WIDEST MATH-READING DIVERGENCE
SchoolCityLevelMath %Reading %Math − Reading (pp)
Kealakehe High SchoolKailua-KonaHigh22.0%67.0%-45
Maui High SchoolKahuluiHigh22.0%65.0%-43
Castle High SchoolKaneoheHigh14.0%56.0%-42
Governor Wallace Rider Farrington High SchoolHonoluluHigh15.0%56.0%-41
Kalaheo High SchoolKailuaHigh30.0%71.0%-41
Moanalua High SchoolHonoluluHigh32.0%72.0%-40
Konawaena High SchoolKealakekuaHigh15.0%55.0%-40
Pearl City High SchoolPearl CityHigh30.0%69.0%-39
Kaimuki High SchoolHonoluluHigh14.0%51.0%-37
Kailua High SchoolKailuaHigh27.0%64.0%-37
Waipahu High SchoolWaipahuHigh32.0%68.0%-36
Waimea High SchoolWaimeaHigh13.0%49.0%-36
Admiral Arthur W Radford High SchoolHonoluluHigh33.0%68.0%-35
Keaau High SchoolKeaauHigh16.0%50.0%-34
Kauai High SchoolLihueHigh19.0%52.0%-33
Kohala High SchoolKapaauHigh13.0%46.0%-33
President William McKinley High SchoolHonoluluHigh27.0%60.0%-33
Leilehua High SchoolWahiawaHigh24.0%56.0%-32
James Campbell High SchoolEwa BeachHigh27.0%59.0%-32
Henry Perrine Baldwin High SchoolWailukuHigh18.0%50.0%-32
DreamHouse Ewa BeachKapoleiHigh13.0%42.0%-29
President Theodore Roosevelt High SchoolHonoluluHigh33.0%59.0%-26
Kapaa High SchoolKapaaHigh20.0%46.0%-26
Kapolei High SchoolKapoleiHigh30.0%56.0%-26
Honouliuli Middle SchoolEwa BeachMiddle25.0%50.0%-25
Hawaii Technology Academy - PCSWaipahuCombined33.0%58.0%-25
West Hawaii Explorations AcademyKailua-KonaHigh22.0%47.0%-25
Waianae High SchoolWaianaeHigh21.0%46.0%-25
Lahainaluna High SchoolLahainaHigh5.0%30.0%-25
Molokai Middle SchoolHoolehuaMiddle19.0%42.0%-23
Kulanihakoi High SchoolKiheiHigh7.0%30.0%-23
Alaka'i O Kaua'i Charter SchoolKoloaElementary49.0%72.0%-23
Kalani High SchoolHonoluluHigh51.0%74.0%-23
Hilo High SchoolHiloHigh25.0%48.0%-23
Kua o ka La - NCPCSHiloCombined24.0%47.0%-23
Aiea High SchoolAieaHigh33.0%55.0%-22
Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science PCSPahoaCombined26.0%48.0%-22
University Laboratory SchoolHonoluluCombined47.0%68.0%-21
Ewa Makai Middle SchoolEwa BeachMiddle36.0%57.0%-21
Waipahu Intermediate SchoolWaipahuMiddle42.0%63.0%-21
40 of 40 rows · Brick-and-mortar only; virtual schools and specialized-population schools excluded. Most recent year with both a math and a reading all-students result; schools must have 150+ students and at least 5% proficient in each subject (a floor that drops suppression/coding artifacts). A negative gap means students are more often proficient in reading than math.↓ Download math-reading-gap-by-state-hi.csv

How to read this list

Each school is scored on its most recent year carrying both a math and a reading (English Language Arts) all-students proficiency figure on Hawaii's native assessment. The final column is the difference: math proficiency minus reading proficiency, in percentage points. A negative number means a school's students are more often proficient in reading than in math; a positive number means the reverse. Because both figures come from the same students taking the same test under the same cut-score policy, the gap is an apples-to-apples comparison in a way that raw cross-state proficiency rates are not.

A wide gap is not automatically a problem. Arts, language-immersion, and humanities-focused programs often post strong reading and weaker math; STEM and career-technical programs often do the reverse. But a persistent, schoolwide divergence is worth a parent's attention, because it can also flag a staffing gap, a curriculum weakness, or a math-anxiety culture that a single year of scores would hide.

What is excluded

Brick-and-mortar schools only: virtual academies and cyber charters are removed because their results are noisy and rarely reflect a school families choose geographically. Specialized-population schools (state schools for the deaf or blind, therapeutic and juvenile-justice placements, and NCES special-education or alternative-education campuses) are also excluded, because state proficiency rates are not a comparable metric for them. Schools must have at least 150 students and at least 5% proficient in each subject, a floor that drops suppression and coding artifacts.

Source data

Hawaii state assessment results loaded into allk12, joined to the NCES Common Core of Data school directory. Refreshed when the state publishes a new assessment file. See the national report for the state-by-state summary.

HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT

Anyone is welcome to cite or republish these findings. Please credit allk12.com and link back to this page so readers can verify the underlying data.

allk12 (2026). "Hawaii: the math vs reading proficiency gap by school." Retrieved from https://allk12.com/reports/math-reading-gap/hawaii
For interview requests or custom data pulls: [email protected]
DOWNLOAD THE DATA
math-reading-gap-by-state-hi.csv
RELATED
Math vs reading gap by state · Hawaii test scores · Best Hawaii schools · All Hawaii schools
DATA NOTICE

allk12 is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCES, the US Census Bureau, any state education agency or assessment program, or any other government agency. Source data is compiled from public records and provided "as is," without warranty of accuracy or completeness. You rely on it, and any analysis derived from it, at your own risk. See the full disclaimer.