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Hawaiian translations of the state’s annual test for public school students have failed twice now, and Hawaiian language advocates say it’s time to take the state’s indigenous tongue seriously.

Hawaii is the only state, after all, that has designated its native language as one of its official languages.

But developing such a test could cost , or $8,000 for each of the 350 students who would take it, the state Department of Education estimates. The English assessment cost a total of $7.1 million last year, or $74.82 per student.

before the state House of Representatives this year proposes that the Department of Education develop a separate test in Hawaiian for students enrolled in Hawaiian Language Immersion Program schools. It has received testimony from dozens of people in support, and none opposing.

The voluntary immersion program was to promote the study of Hawaiian culture, language and history, goals that were established through constitutional mandate. Today, there are 21 immersion schools statewide, with about 2,000 students enrolled from kindergarten through 12th grade.

“One of the biggest challenges facing Ka Papahana Kaiapuni (Hawaiian Language Immersion Program) is that the assessments do not match the language of instruction (instruction-Hawaiian, assessments-English),” Christopher Yim, a former Hawaiian Language Immersion teacher and current professor at University of Hawaii preparing teachers to instruct in Hawaiian Language Immersion schools, testified at a hearing on the bill this week.

Test Has Had Problems In Past

Immersion students in the third and fourth grades historically have taken a special test called the (HAPA) because they do not receive formal English instruction until the fifth grade.

But federal officials said the HAPA did not meet standards outlined in the , so last year, third- and fourth-graders began taking a Hawaiian translation of the same online Hawaii State Assessment their mainstream peers were taking in English. The translated assessment was riddled with problems though, from technical errors and mistranslations to inaccuracies and test items displaying improperly on students’ computer monitors.

The immersion schools boycotted it and returned to the HAPA while Department of Education officials worked to fix some of the issues. But this year, feds said the state’s 350-something third- and fourth-grade immersion students must take the translated test, which Hawaiian school leaders say still does not comply with widely recognized standards for test development.

Parents call the translated test “inadequate” and “an injustice.” Immersion students are performing poorly on it not because they are not learning in their classes, teachers say, but because the test is a crude and inaccurate tool for measuring their educational achievement.

“Tests in Hawaiian currently in use are inadequate and tests in English are not fair for Hawaiian language immersion students,” said Katherine Roseguo, an advocate for the House proposal.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has grave concerns about the translation method for assessing Hawaiian language students not only currently, but as the department develops new tests in the coming years to align with nationally aligned curriculum standards.

“Despite lingering concerns about the validity and accuracy of the translated assessment the (Department of Education) is once again administering the translated assessment instead of an assessment developed originally in the Hawaiian language,” wrote Chief Knowledge Officer Malia Kaaihue in submitted testimony. “The concerns surrounding the translated assessment have become even more pressing in light of the fact that the Board of Education recently adopted the Common Core Standards, and new assessments that align with these standards are expected to be implemented in the 2014-2015 school year.”

If the Department of Education wants to take its commitment to the Hawaiian Language Immersion Program, it is going to have to take those and other factors into account, said G. Kalehua Krug, an immersion teacher and parent of immersion students.

“The (Hawaiian Language Immersion Program) has developed curriculum, drafted policy and has engaged the education community at the federal level,” he said. “The final frontier is educational assessment.

“As one of this State’s official languages, the Hawaiian language must be utilized at all levels of educational implementation. If we are allowed to speak to our children, develop curriculum for our children, educate our children and love our children through this language, then we must assess them through it too. We must not translate our Hawaiian ways of knowing into another language. It must be created and implemented, start to finish, through the Hawaiian language.”

DOE Has Concerns With Bill

The Department of Education is not taking a position on the bill. While school district officials agree that the Hawaiian language assessment can be improved, they are not sure it’s necessary to do so in the way proposed by the bill. To develop it separately from the English test would require personnel and financial resources the department does not have right now for such an undertaking, according to testimony.

The department said it is open to suggestions, but would also need to work with the U.S. Department of Education to make sure any test meets federal requirements.

But advocates for the bill say it’s time to devote significant resources to such a project. They say it’s not just about meaningful measurement of how well students are learning, they are also championing far bigger causes: revival of the Hawaiian language, and greater equality for native Hawaiians.

This bill would be “a step in the right direction towards educational equity for families who choose the right to educate their children in the native language of these islands,” said Yim, the UH professor.

to view testimony from one of the keiki supporting this measure.