The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Math. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Kapaa Elementary School
Kapaa Elementary School sits in the most populous town on Kauai, a community shaped by its plantation past and its present-day reliance on tourism, diversified agriculture, and service work. The town has a walkable commercial core along Kuhio Highway with souvenir shops, restaurants, and small shopping villages, and traffic congestion on that main road is a known local concern. Schools here appear embedded in the community rather than set apart on isolated campuses, and Kapaa Elementary serves as one of the feeder schools alongside a middle school and high school in the area. Civic anchors nearby include the Kapaa Public Library, Kealia Beach, Lydgate Beach Park, and the Sleeping Giant trail system. The town has grown steadily over recent decades, and publicly reported figures describe slow ongoing population growth.
The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of the Hawaii Department of Education, the statewide district that governs all public schools in Hawaii. The district brief turned up little on recent policy, curriculum, or budget changes of lasting impact, so this narrative leaves that gap open rather than filling it. Kapaa Elementary operates as a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school.
The student body reflects the island's mixed heritage. The largest group identifies as two or more races, followed by Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, then Hispanic students, with smaller Asian and White populations and a very small number of Black and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so families wanting that detail should ask the school directly. No neighbor comparison data was provided for this school, so it cannot be positioned against nearby schools in this account.
State assessment results come from the Smarter Balanced Assessment in math and English language arts for grades three through five, and from the Hawaii Science Assessment for fifth grade. In math, proficiency is strongest in third grade, dips in fourth, and falls further in fifth. English language arts follows a different pattern, with third grade moderate, fourth grade the lowest, and fifth grade rebounding. Science proficiency in fifth grade sits in a similar mid-range. Participation is high across all tested grades and subjects, with nearly every student sitting for the exams.
Only one year of data was available, so no trend could be computed. This means the results offer a snapshot of where students stand but no sense of whether performance is improving, holding steady, or declining over time. A parent may want to ask the school for additional context on how these numbers have moved and what interventions are in place, particularly for the upper elementary grades where math proficiency softens. Average scale scores were also missing from the data provided.
The housing market in this zip code is expensive relative to both state and national benchmarks. Home values run well above the Hawaii state level, which itself sits far above the national figure. The price-to-income ratio is steep, and estimated monthly mortgage costs exceed what renting would cost, though rents also consume a large share of income. This housing context matters for families considering a move into the attendance area, since the cost of living on Kauai is high across the board. The local economy is driven by accommodation and food services, retail, and healthcare, with no specific major employers identified in the research.
No data was available on program offerings, course access, staffing ratios, discipline, or attendance. Title I status was not reported. Civil rights data was empty. Families interested in any of these dimensions should contact the school or the Hawaii Department of Education directly.
What the picture does show is a community school serving a diverse, predominantly local student population in a town where tourism dominates the economy and housing costs are high. Academic results are mixed across grades and subjects, with participation strong and some grade-level variation that a parent might want to understand better before enrolling.
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