The top reported proficiency rate is 77% in English language arts. The lowest is 62% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Moanalua Middle School
Moanalua Middle School sits in Honolulu, serving seventh and eighth graders in the Hawaii Department of Education system. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it occupies a single grade band. That narrow span means some common metrics simply do not apply here. There is no graduation rate because the school does not extend through twelfth grade. State testing data, by contrast, is available and tells a clear story.
The school's academic results are strong. On the Smarter Balanced assessments, English language arts proficiency runs high at both grade levels, with a substantial majority of students meeting or exceeding standards. Science results, measured by the Hawaii Science Assessment aligned to Next Generation Science Standards, are similarly strong. Mathematics proficiency is solid, with a majority of students proficient in both seventh and eighth grade, though math does not reach the same heights as ELA and science. Participation rates are near-total across all tested subjects and grades, which speaks to consistent testing practices. Average scale scores were not reported in the available data, so there is no finer-grained view of how students cluster within the proficiency bands. We also found only a single year of results, so there is no trend line to show whether these numbers are rising, holding, or slipping over time.
The student body is diverse in a way that reflects Honolulu itself. Asian students make up the largest single group, followed by students of two or more races, then Hispanic students. White, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Black students round out the enrollment. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, below what many urban middle schools see, which suggests a relatively stable economic base among families. The school's total enrollment sits in a range that feels substantial for a two-grade middle school, giving it enough scale for varied programming without being so large that students get lost. We looked for information on special education and English learner populations but found no reported figures, so a parent with questions in those areas would want to contact the school directly.
Honolulu sets the backdrop. The city is Hawaii's capital and commercial hub, stretching along the southeast coast of Oʻahu. Tourism, military defense, state and county government, healthcare, and finance anchor the local economy. Waikīkī draws millions of visitors annually, and downtown Honolulu concentrates financial and civic institutions, including the state capitol and Honolulu Hale. The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa sits in a nearby valley. The city's built environment is dense with high-rises in the urban core, and the Skyline rail system is an ongoing infrastructure investment. Publicly reported sources note that Honolulu faces an aging and declining population, with residents leaving for the mainland, and that climate pressures, including sea level rise and drought, are affecting the area.
Housing in the school's zip code is expensive. Typical home values run well above both state and national benchmarks, and rents are similarly steep. The price-to-income ratio is high enough that homeownership is out of reach for many families without substantial income or existing equity. A parent considering a move into the Moanalua Middle boundary should expect that housing costs will be a major factor in the decision.
What the data does not cover is also worth naming. We found no information on course offerings, extracurriculars, staffing ratios, discipline patterns, attendance rates, or Title I status. The district brief for the Hawaii Department of Education returned no specific policy, curriculum, or budget changes that would affect parents right now. This is a school whose academic results speak clearly and positively, particularly in English and science, while the Honolulu housing market is the practical challenge that surrounds the choice. For a family weighing Moanalua Middle, the academic profile is a genuine strength. The programmatic and environmental details would need direct outreach to the school to fill in.
See more original research from School Decision →