The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Math. The lowest is 35% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lihikai Elementary School
Lihikai Elementary School sits in the heart of Kahului, the commercial and transportation hub of Maui. The school serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Hawaii Department of Education, the statewide public school system. Kahului is an unincorporated community with no municipal government of its own, a working town built around the island's main airport, its only deep-draft harbor, and a stretch of big-box retail and light industrial zones. The county seat sits in neighboring Wailuku. Public schools here operate on separate campuses distributed across the community rather than clustered around a traditional town center.
The student body at Lihikai reflects the demographics of the island itself. Asian students make up the largest single group, followed by a substantial Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population. Hispanic students and students of two or more races round out the enrollment, with very small white and Black populations. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school firmly in the category of serving a economically mixed but lower-income community. Data on English learner status and special education enrollment was not available, so those dimensions of the school's student support picture remain unclear from the provided information.
On state assessments, Lihikai's results tell a consistent story across subjects. In the earlier tested grades, proficiency rates sit around the midpoint, with roughly half of third and fourth graders meeting or exceeding standards in both math and English language arts. By fifth grade, proficiency drops noticeably in all three tested subjects. Math falls to the lower range, English language arts dips similarly, and science proficiency sits in the same lower band. The schoolwide proficiency summary confirms this pattern, with math and English language arts each landing near the middle of the range and science somewhat below. Participation rates are strong across every grade and subject, with nearly universal testing. Only one year of assessment data was available, so no trend can be drawn from these results. A parent looking at the fifth-grade dip may want to ask the school how it supports students through that transition year.
Kahului itself gives families a particular kind of lifestyle. The built environment is spread out and car-dependent, organized around shopping centers, the airport, harbor, and industrial zones rather than a walkable main street. The area is also one of the windiest places in the country, which affects outdoor activity. Civic anchors include the Kahului Library, the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Kanaha Beach County Park, and the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens. Major employers range from retail and utility companies to health services and the University of Hawaii Maui College, which sits within the same census-designated place. The town has grown steadily over decades, with a tight housing supply and low vacancy rate.
Housing in the school's zip code is expensive relative to both state and national benchmarks. Typical home values run well above the state figure and far above the national one, and the price-to-income ratio reflects the squeeze that families face. Monthly mortgage costs exceed typical rents by a wide margin, which means renting may be the more accessible path for many families in this area. The housing market has softened recently, with values declining from the prior year, though the broader economic picture shows stable unemployment and rising median incomes nationally.
We searched for recent district-level changes from the Hawaii Department of Education that might affect families, such as policy shifts, curriculum updates, or budget actions, but found little of lasting impact in the available sources, so nothing specific can be reported here.
For a family considering Lihikai, the school offers a regular public elementary program in a community where most students come from economically working families and where the student population mirrors the island's multicultural makeup. Academic results are middling in the early grades with a slide in fifth grade, and science outcomes are a soft spot worth asking about. The surrounding town is practical and commerce-driven rather than scenic or resort-like, and housing costs are high even by Hawaii standards.
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