Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science Pcs, Pahoa HI

Original Research by School Decision on Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science Pcs

Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science is a public charter school serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade in Pahoa, on the eastern side of Hawaii Island. It sits in the Puna District, a rural area known for its alternative-lifestyle residents, homesteaders, and long-time local families. The town has a compact downtown with raised wooden sidewalks, false-front stores, and a character often described as a "Wild West" atmosphere, with the highest concentration of old buildings in Hawaii. Everyday services like supermarkets, a library, a post office, police and fire departments, and a public swimming pool cluster near the town center. The area sits in Lava Zone 1, the highest-risk volcanic zone, and the community has weathered multiple eruptions that destroyed homes and disrupted access roads. Publicly reported estimates suggest the population has been recovering and growing in recent years after a period of decline tied to volcanic activity.

The school draws a student body that reflects this community. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, pointing to a largely economically disadvantaged population. The racial and ethnic mix is diverse, with White students forming the largest group, followed by Hispanic, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. We looked for data on English learners and special education enrollment but found none reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here.

On state assessments, the school shows a clear split between English language arts and mathematics. In ELA, proficiency rates climb as students move into upper elementary and middle school grades, with several grade levels showing a majority of students reaching proficiency. The strongest results appear in fifth and sixth grade. Lower elementary ELA results are more modest. Mathematics tells a different story. Proficiency is generally lower across the board and dips sharply by eighth grade, where only a small fraction of students meet the bar. Third and fourth grade math are the relative bright spots, with roughly two-fifths of tested students proficient, but the upper grades trail. Science results, reported for fifth and eighth grade, land in a middling range. Participation rates on the assessments are consistently high. Only one year of assessment data was available, so no trend over time can be drawn.

The school's overall proficiency summary places ELA near the midpoint, science slightly below that, and math well behind. A parent considering this school may want to ask how the school supports math instruction in the upper grades, given the pattern in the results.

We looked for information on program offerings such as Advanced Placement, career pathways, or dual-credit opportunities, and none was available in the data provided. Staffing, discipline, attendance, and course-access details were also absent. No graduation rate was reported, though the school does serve high school grades, so a parent with a high-school-aged child would want to contact the school directly for that information. No neighbor comparison or county-level positioning data was provided for this school.

Housing in Pahoa is relatively affordable compared with the state as a whole. Home values sit well below the statewide benchmark, and rents are similarly modest, though the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home still exceeds local rents by a meaningful margin. Home values have declined modestly in the past year. The price-to-income ratio suggests that buying remains a stretch for many households relative to national norms.

This is a small-town charter school in a distinctive rural community, serving a diverse and largely lower-income student population. Its ELA program shows real strength in the middle grades, while mathematics is an area a family would want to understand better before enrolling, especially for older students.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

85-89%Cohort of 65 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

59 schools plotted. 4 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 53% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 51% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 523%

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

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

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 41% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 38% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 36% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 50% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 52% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 56% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 54% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 54% · ▼ 3 pts below district

even with state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 54% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 49% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 43% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 4 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-income30%Higher-income47%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income45%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income61%Higher-income56%5 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income67%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income60%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income56%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income47%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income45%Higher-income36%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income20%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income46%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income30%Higher-income32%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income10%Higher-income19%9 pp gap