Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School, Waikoloa HI

Original Research by School Decision on Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School

Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School is a public school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the Waikoloa community on the west side of Hawaii Island. It operates under the Hawaii Department of Education, the single statewide district that covers all of Hawaii's public schools. The campus sits in Waikoloa Village, a residential community built on a plateau inland from the Kohala Coast resort strip. The village has a small commercial hub called Waikoloa Highlands Center with a market, drug store, eateries, and a gas station, but the area is car-oriented and dispersed, with no traditional walkable downtown. Publicly reported sources describe the village as having a quieter, small-town feel compared to the coastal resorts, which sit a few miles down Waikoloa Road and are anchored by large hotels, golf courses, and resort shopping complexes.

The school's enrollment is large for its grade band, and the student body reflects the community's diversity. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students form the largest group, followed by Hispanic students, students of two or more races, White students, and Asian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a mix of working and middle-class families. Data on English learner status and special education enrollment was not available, so those dimensions of the student population are not part of this picture.

On state assessments, the school shows a mixed academic profile. English language arts is the stronger subject area. Proficiency rates climb notably as students move into the upper grades, with seventh and eighth graders performing well and fifth graders also showing solid results. Lower elementary grades in ELA are weaker, with third and fourth graders scoring lower. In mathematics, the pattern is somewhat reversed: proficiency is moderate in third and fourth grade, dips in fifth grade, then recovers through sixth, seventh, and especially eighth grade, where the oldest students show the strongest math performance. Science results, available only for fifth and eighth grade, land in a moderate range. Participation rates are consistently high across all tested grades and subjects. Only one year of assessment data is available, so trend information is not yet possible to establish. A parent may want to look into how the school supports the lower elementary grades in literacy and the middle elementary grades in math, where the results are softest.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate or high school course data to report. The transition to high school will require families to look elsewhere, and the data provided does not include information on which high school Waikoloa students typically attend. No program offerings, extracurricular activities, or specialized academic pathways were listed in the available data, so this account cannot speak to enrichment, arts, athletics, or career-oriented programs. Civil rights data, discipline information, staffing figures, and attendance rates were also not available.

The housing market in the Waikoloa zip code is expensive by any standard. Typical home values sit well above the national benchmark and modestly above the state benchmark for Hawaii, which itself is among the priciest in the country. Rental data was not available. The affordability picture is demanding: estimated monthly mortgage costs are steep relative to national median household income, and the broader economic environment carries high borrowing costs. The local economy is heavily oriented toward tourism and hospitality, with the major employers concentrated at the coastal resort properties rather than in the village itself. The community has seen steady population growth over recent census cycles, and the area's history traces back to Parker Ranch land before residential development began. No public library or public transit system is mentioned in available sources, which adds to the picture of a dispersed, car-dependent community.

Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School fits families who want a reasonably sized, diverse public school setting in a quiet residential community on the dry side of Hawaii Island, with the trade-off of an expensive housing market and a car-dependent lifestyle. The academic results suggest a school where older students find their footing in both ELA and math, while younger grades need closer attention. Parents considering this school would benefit from asking about literacy support in the early grades, math instruction in the middle elementary years, and the pathway from eighth grade to high school, since none of that is captured in the data provided.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 53% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 51% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 45% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 41% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 38% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 36% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 50% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 52% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 56% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 54% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 54% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 54% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 49% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 43% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolHawaii Department of Education, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income22%Higher-income29%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income34%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income73%43 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income51%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income35%Higher-income78%42 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income56%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income24%Higher-income50%26 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income38%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income36%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income17%Higher-income49%32 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income41%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income26%Higher-income56%29 pp gap