The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Waihee Elementary School
Waihee Elementary School sits on Kahekili Highway in Wailuku, the county seat of Maui County and a town with deep plantation roots. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public campus within the Hawaii Department of Education, the statewide district that governs all of Hawaii's public schools. With enrollment across seven grade levels, it is a sizable elementary school for its setting, drawing from a community where Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students form the largest share of the student body, followed by Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students. A substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic pressures many central Maui households face.
The academic picture comes from the most recent Smarter Balanced Assessment results in math and English language arts for grades three through five, plus the Hawaii Science Assessment in fifth grade. In math, roughly a third to just under half of tested students reached proficiency, with the share holding fairly steady across the three tested grades. English language arts tells a more encouraging story: proficiency climbs as students move up the grades, with fifth graders reaching proficiency at a meaningfully higher rate than third graders. Science proficiency in fifth grade lands in the same modest range as math. Participation was full across every tested group, which means these results reflect the whole grade rather than a partial sample. No multi-year trend is available yet, so there is no way to tell from this data whether proficiency is rising or falling over time. Average scale scores were not reported, which limits the picture to proficiency rates alone. A parent trying to gauge whether the school is gaining or losing ground would want to ask the school directly about trend data.
What stands out as a strength is the upward movement in English language arts from third to fifth grade. That pattern suggests the school's literacy instruction may be building cumulative gains as students progress. The math and science results are softer, and a parent may want to look into how the school supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency in those subjects, particularly whether tutoring, intervention blocks, or extended learning time are available.
Several data fields that would help round out the picture are missing. The school's individualized education program rate and English learner rate were not reported, so there is no way to describe the share of students receiving special education services or language support from this data. Staffing ratios, attendance patterns, disciplinary incidents, and course access details were also not available. Title I status was not reported, though given the free and reduced-price lunch rate, the school likely qualifies for and receives federal support for low-income students; a parent could confirm this with the campus.
Wailuku itself is a town where civic life and residential streets sit close together. The historic core along Market Street holds long-standing family businesses alongside newer boutiques and cafes, and county government offices anchor the downtown. Residential neighborhoods climb toward ʻĪao Valley, and the Kehalani development on former plantation land stretches the town's southern edge. Major employers include Maui County government and Maui Memorial Medical Center, with the broader visitor industry also present. The housing market here is expensive relative to national norms, with home values and rents well above mainland benchmarks, and the price-to-income ratio is steep. For a family considering this area, housing costs will be a major factor alongside school choice.
We looked for recent district-level policy or curriculum changes from the Hawaii Department of Education that would affect families at Waihee, but the search returned little of lasting impact, so that material is left out rather than guessed at. The district is the only statewide public school system in the country, which means Waihee operates under the same governance umbrella as every other public campus in Hawaii, with policies set at the state level rather than by a local board.
For a family weighing this school, the profile that emerges is of a community-rooted elementary campus serving a diverse, predominantly Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander student body in a town with strong civic identity and considerable housing cost pressure. The literacy trajectory across grades is a genuine bright spot, while math and science outcomes are at a level where a parent would reasonably want to understand what support structures exist. The missing data on special populations, staffing, and programs means the full picture will require a conversation with the school itself.
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