Hawaiʻi earns a C on education policy

StudentsFirst, a policy think-tank with the goal of facilitating meaningful change in our nation’s public education systems, released its second annual State Policy Report Card on Tuesday, January 14 and Hawaiʻi ranks higher than many states. Unfortunately, with our state earning a C grade overall, that isn’t saying much.

Hawaiʻi was one of 11 states that earned a C grade (along with the District of Columbia). The majority—thirty states—earned a D grade. Seven states earned F grades, while only Louisiana and Florida earned B grades. No state earned an A grade.

Hawaii ranked 7th in the nation with a GPA of 2.06, based on a rubric the organization created to evaluate state performance.

Hawaiʻi has a strong teacher and principal evaluation system in place, which is used to inform pay and assignment decisions. Unfortunately, seniority is still a driving factor in many other personnel decisions. Hawaiʻi has also worked to empower its parents by establishing high-quality charter schools, but can do more to empower parents by providing them with an understandable and accessible A-F school report card that details their school’s performance on an annual basis. Finally, though Hawaii has a streamlined accountability system, the state can do more to ensure that resources are spent efficiently by linking spending data to student outcomes.

The report also noted that Hawaiʻi began implementing a “robust educator evaluation system” in 2013 after the two-year pilot program. “Hawaiʻi also improved the system by clarifying how teachers of both tested and non-tested subjects are evaluated.”

Unlike many other similar report cards, the StudentsFirst report card does not factor in student test scores (though they are certainly aware of them). Rather, it focuses on whether each state’s laws effectively prioritize the interests of students and their families and whether each state’s education policy lines up with identified core-principles which comprise three basic pillars of good education policy: Elevate the Teaching Profession, Empower Parents, Spend Wisely and Govern Well.

The StudentsFirst 2014 State Policy Report Card (SPRC) results are based on an assessment of state- specific statutes, regulations, policies and/or directives adopted or enacted as of December 20, 2013, from 50 states and the District of Columbia. Legislation or policies that were proposed, but not adopted or enacted, as of December 20, 2013, were not considered.

To assign grades, StudentsFirst developed a scoring rubric for each of the 24 policy objectives evaluated in the SPRC. Each state’s education policies were analyzed against this rubric and scored using a 0 to 4 scale, with 4 representing the strongest lever for reform. Anchor policies were weighed three times higher (3x).

StudentsFirst performed an initial analysis and grades were assigned using publicly-available sources and materials. Once the initial analysis was complete and initial scores were assigned, this information was sent to each respective state’s governing education entity for review, input, and comments prior to the assignment of final scores, grades, and rankings.

The report’s emphasis on state policy rather than student performance is significant because it places the emphasis on fixing bad education policy which leads to the low scores. Ranking a state based on student scores won’t improve those scores; it merely points out that improvement is needed.

The report makes general recommendations for the state in all three areas. In Elevate the Teaching Profession, StudentsFirst recommends:

If Hawaiʻi wants to strengthen its teaching corps, it should require [its] district to use teacher effectiveness as the driving factor in major personnel decisions like recruitment, placement, and dismissal. This policy change will help Hawaiʻi recognize and develop great teachers and treat them like the professionals they are.

In Empower Parents, the report suggests:

To further empower parents, Hawaiʻi should provide meaningful school performance information to parents using an A-F letter grading system that is based on student achievement data; and provide public charter schools with greater support in obtaining or building quality facilities. These changes will empower parents across the state with information and quality opportunities so that no child is forced to attend a low-performing school.

In Spend Wisely and Govern Well, which was the lowest performing pillar for Hawaiʻi (earning a D+), StudentsFirst notes:

Unique to Hawaiʻi, traditional public schools are under the direct control of the state, which helps streamline accountability. However, Hawaiʻi can do more to provide governance flexibility and help ensure that resources are spent wisely. To make every dollar count, the state should link spending data to student outcomes; and restructure the existing back-loaded, defined benefit retirement plan as a cash-balance plan. These changes will help policymakers and the public understand the impact of spending decisions on student achievement and provide teachers with a competitive retirement plan.

For the complete methodology used by StudentsFirst to create their report card, go here.