The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Princess Nahienaena Elementary School
Princess Nahienaena Elementary School sits on Niheu Street in Lahaina, on the western coast of Maui, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Hawaii Department of Education. It is a regular public school, and its enrollment is mid-sized for an elementary campus in this part of the island. The student body skews heavily Asian and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, with smaller Hispanic and multiracial groups and a very small white population. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report individualized education program or English learner rates, so those population shares are not available here; a parent may want to ask the school directly about special education and language support services.
On state assessments, Lahaina's third, fourth, and fifth graders sat the Smarter Balanced tests in math and English language arts, and fifth graders took the Hawaii Science Assessment aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. Math proficiency was modest across the tested grades, with roughly a quarter to just under a third of students meeting proficiency in each grade. English language arts results were uneven: third grade was the weakest, fourth grade showed improvement, and fifth grade reached the highest proficiency level among the tested groups. Science proficiency among fifth graders was the lowest of the reported measures. Participation was strong across all tested grades and subjects. Only a single year of data is available, so there is no multi-year trend to compare against. Average scale scores were not reported for any grade or subject, which limits how precisely one can compare this school to others beyond the proficiency rates themselves. A parent weighing academics here may want to look into how the school supports students below proficiency and what intervention or tutoring structures are in place.
Lahaina itself shapes this school as much as any policy or program. Before the August 2023 wildfire, Lahaina was a historic coastal town whose Front Street was ranked among the greatest streets in America by the American Planning Association, lined with historic sites managed by the Lahaina Restoration Foundation and busy with visitor-oriented commerce. That fire destroyed a large share of the town, killed residents, and caused extensive damage. As of 2026, recovery is underway. Maui County reports that numerous properties have been cleared, essential infrastructure is being restored, a handful of commercial permits have been issued, and a Front Street walkway and railing project is finished. Permitting in the Lahaina Historic District remains among the most heavily regulated processes in the state, involving national, state, and local rules, which affects the pace of rebuilding. Tourism was the leading industry before the fire, and the commercial base was devastated; early signs of economic recovery are visible but still in an early phase. This is the community children at Princess Nahienaena are growing up in.
The housing market around the school reflects that disruption. Typical home values in the school's zip code remain well above the national benchmark and above the broader state figure, though values have declined by a meaningful margin year over year. Rents have moved in the other direction, rising year over year, and rent absorbs a large share of household income relative to national norms. Buying costs more than renting by a wide monthly margin at current mortgage rates. For families considering a move to this area, the housing picture is one of high costs against a backdrop of ongoing community reconstruction.
The Hawaii Department of Education district brief returned little in the way of specific recent policy, curriculum, or programmatic changes, so there is nothing to report on that front. No neighbor comparison, program offerings, staffing, attendance, discipline, or course access data were provided for this school. Those gaps mean the picture here is assembled from assessment results, enrollment, and community context alone. What is clear is that Princess Nahienaena is an elementary school serving a diverse, mostly low-income student population in a town still recovering from catastrophe, with academic results that leave substantial room for growth and a community working hard to rebuild around it.
See more original research from School Decision →