The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hilo Intermediate School
Hilo Intermediate School sits on Waianuenue Avenue in Hilo, the county seat of Hawaiʻi County on the east side of the Big Island. It is a regular public school serving seventh and eighth grades, part of the statewide Hawaii Department of Education. The school draws from a community that blends residential neighborhoods, a downtown commercial-cultural core along Hilo Bay, and institutional anchors such as the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College. Hilo's economy shifted after the sugar plantations closed in the 1990s, diversifying into education, astronomy tied to the Mauna Kea observatories, tourism, and macadamia nut production. The town hosts a farmers market, galleries, museums, and the Merrie Monarch Festival, giving it a college-town dimension with a distinctly local identity.
The student body is relatively small for a two-grade school, with enrollment split fairly evenly between the two grades. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students form the largest group, followed by Hispanic students and a sizable portion of students identifying as two or more races. Asian and white students each make up a small share. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic realities of a community where housing costs run high relative to incomes. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those population shares remain unknown.
On state assessments, the school shows a clear pattern. English language arts results are the strongest area. A majority of seventh and eighth graders scored proficient or above on the Smarter Balanced Assessment, with eighth-grade results slightly ahead of seventh. Science proficiency on the Hawaiʻi Science Assessment was also above the halfway mark for eighth graders. Mathematics is the softer spot: fewer than half of students reached proficiency in either grade, though eighth-grade results were modestly ahead of seventh. Participation rates were high across all tested subjects and grades, which means the proficiency figures represent nearly the full student body rather than a skewed subset. A parent may want to look into how the school supports math instruction and whether additional interventions are available for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.
Only one year of assessment data was available, so there is no trend to report. It is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. The data sections on the page carry the specific figures.
Housing in the school's zip code sits below the statewide benchmark but well above national figures, reflecting Hawaiʻi's broader cost environment. The price-to-income ratio is elevated, and rent consumes a large share of typical household income. For families considering a move into the attendance area, this means the housing market is demanding even by Hawaiʻi standards, though rents are more moderate than purchase prices relative to the island as a whole. The island-wide Hele-On bus system provides public transit, and Hilo International Airport offers interisland connections.
Several categories of information were not available for this school. No locale classification, course access data, staffing figures, attendance rates, or discipline records were provided. Title I status was not reported. Civil rights data was absent. Program offerings were not listed, which limits what can be said about extracurriculars, electives, or specialized pathways. A family considering this school would benefit from asking directly about those areas. We looked for district-level policy or curriculum changes that might affect the school but found little of lasting impact in publicly available sources, so we left that out rather than guess.
What the available evidence does show is a mid-sized intermediate school in a town with deep cultural roots and a diversified economy, serving a predominantly Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic student body with strong FRPL representation. Its students perform above the proficiency midpoint in reading and science, while mathematics remains an area where a substantial portion of students have not yet met the standard. For a family in Hilo weighing this school, the academic picture is mixed but leans positive in literacy and science, and the community context offers a rich set of cultural and educational resources beyond the campus itself.
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