While the Covid-19 pandemic left its mark on Hawaii students’ achievement and families’ economic stability, the results may not be as dire as expected, according to a national report released Monday. 

The Kids Count Data Book, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, annually assesses children and families’ well-being across the United States. Hawaii received an overall rank of 25 this year, receiving above-average ratings in indicators relating to education, health and family and community resources.  The report primarily drew from data collected in 2022. 

Notably, Hawaii students fared better than many of their peers on the mainland when it came to academic achievement. The state’s fourth grade reading proficiency rate remained around 35% from 2019 to 2022, while the national average dropped by 3%.  

Hawaii faced greater challenges in math, where its eighth grade proficiency rate dropped from 28% to 22% from 2019 to 2022. But Hawaii’s loss was still less than the national decline in math proficiency, which fell by 10%. 

Terrence George, president and CEO of the Castle Foundation, said it’s promising that Hawaii students may have recovered more quickly from the pandemic compared to other states. But, he added, the state needs to do more when it comes to addressing families’ economic well-being, where Hawaii ranked 38th in the nation. 

“There’s no question that the state is beginning to show the deep impact the pandemic had on our children,” George said. 

In 2022, 28% of Hawaii children had parents who lacked secure employment, compared to 24% in 2019.

Deborah Zysman, director of the Hawaii Children’s Action Network, said Hawaii hasn’t seen huge declines in families’ economic well-being since 2020. But, she added, families were already struggling with the state’s high housing costs before the pandemic, and Hawaii’s dependence on tourism and service industries could make it difficult for parents to find full-time, high-paying jobs. 

“It’s consistent. And that’s sometimes the concern,” Zysman said. 

When families struggle financially, Zysman said, children may face greater academic challenges.

In 2022, Hawaii’s chronic absenteeism rate was nearly 40% and had more than doubled since the pandemic. More recent data indicates that the state’s absenteeism rate has improved but remains high, particularly among low-income and homeless students, as well as Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. 

Families typically understand the importance of education, Zysman said, but aren’t always able to send their children to school. When parents work multiple jobs or struggle to provide for their families, she added, older children may stay home to take care of their younger siblings or drop out of school to enter the workforce early. 

“It’s often economic, why children are missing school,” Zysman said. 

Moving forward, Cheri Nakamura, director of the Hui for Excellence in Education advocacy group, said she’d like to see more information on what the state is doing to improve in areas like math proficiency and chronic absenteeism. For example, she added, while some states have emphasized evidence-based reading programs to improve student literacy, it’s unclear if the Hawaii Department of Education is consistently implementing similar reforms across the state.  

At the same time, Nakamura said, as the department spends the last of its federal Covid relief funds, she would like to see data on what programs or initiatives were most effective in supporting student achievement or mental health. The data can play a crucial role in helping schools determine their next steps in recovering from the pandemic, she added. 

“It was an opportunity to try to figure out and experiment what programs or strategies were helpful,” she said. 

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.