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For the second year in a row, less than a third of Hawaii students are ready for kindergarten when they start school, with schools on the Big Island, Maui and the west side of Oahu reporting some of the lowest scores for students, according to new data from the Hawaii Department of Education.

The latest results from state’s Kindergarten Entry Assessment come despite a surge in spending to better prepare students for their first years in school.

Early learning and kindergarten readiness has been a top priority for the state in recent years, with lawmakers pledging to provide preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds by 2032. In August, the Executive Office on Early Learning opened 44 new public preschool classrooms on DOE campuses, and the state aims to create 25 more classrooms next year.

In 2022, lawmakers set aside $200 million in a historical investment to build more preschool classrooms across Hawaii. The state also has $50 million in tuition subsidies for families that send their children to private preschool programs.

But researchers and education advocates say it’s too early to see the impact of the state’s preschool expansion on kindergarten readiness, especially when staff shortages and limited spots are preventing nearly half of Hawaii’s 3- and 4-year-olds from attending preschool. Some say the state needs to focus on creating more public preschools in low-income communities, while also offering more support to families with infants and toddlers.

Low-income families, whose students may struggle on DOE’s kindergarten assessment, need more help with child development and nutrition from the time their babies are born, said Kerrie Urosevich, executive director of Early Childhood Action Strategy. 

“I don’t feel that the results were surprising,” Urosevich said about this year’s . “We don’t have equitable access to early learning programs across the islands.” 

Wide Variation In Readiness

The Kindergarten Entry Assessment, which the state introduced last year, tests students on a variety of skills, from identifying letters and shapes to sharing with their classmates and using scissors. When students begin kindergarten with these basic skills, they’re able to start learning earlier and make quicker progress toward longer-term goals, like reading at grade level by third grade, said DOE Assistant Superintendent Teri Ushijima.

The assessment, conducted earlier this year, also helps educators understand their students’ strengths and areas where they need to improve — and adjust their lessons accordingly, said Kalihi Waena Elementary teacher Natalie Lee.

Elementary schools in the Kaiser and Kalaheo complexes on Oahu reported some of the highest scores in the state, with students demonstrating readiness in all or almost all areas of the kindergarten assessment. Waianae schools reported some of the lowest scores in the state, with only 11% of students showing kindergarten readiness.

On Maui, Molokai and Lanai, no school complexes reported student readiness in the assessment areas of math, literacy, social skills or physical development.

There’s no single reason for the wide differences in readiness scores, Urosevich said. Some students may struggle on the literacy portion of the test if they don’t speak English at home, she said, and low-income families have limited access to affordable preschool programs, which can help prepare students. When parents are working multiple jobs to provide for their families, she added, they have less time to connect with their children and help them develop socially and academically. 

A Push For Preschool

In recent years, Hawaii has strategically placed more public preschool classrooms in low-income communities, said Barabra DeBaryshe, interim director at the University of Hawaii’s Center on the Family. A from the center shows that some communities where students have low levels of kindergarten readiness, like Nanakuli, have average or above-average access to early learning programs. 

But access remains low in other struggling parts of the state, like Waianae and West Maui, which also lost some of its providers after the fires last year. Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who is leading Hawaii’s efforts to expand access to public preschool, said data from the kindergarten assessment can help the state determine where more seats are needed.

Even with continued state investment in preschool, staffing and funding remains a challenge to meeting families’ demand, said Debbi Amaral, early childhood services director at Maui Economic Opportunity, which operates federally funded preschool programs on Maui and Molokai.

Early education workers in Hawaii make between $13 to $17 an hour, according to a from the University of Hawaii and RAND Corporation. It’s difficult to attract preschool teachers with low wages, Amaral added, but private providers can’t increase staff salaries unless they charge families more for tuition. 

“It creates a challenge, because higher tuition creates an unaffordable situation for families,” Amaral said. In 2020, Hawaii’s average was over $12,000 each year for 4-year-olds.

Outside of expanded preschool options, families also need greater access to high-quality infant and toddler care that can improve children’s development and kindergarten readiness, DeBaryshe said. Tuition subsidies and public preschool programs are mainly available for 3- and 4-year-olds, she added, but low-income families often can’t afford to stay home with their children for the first few years of their lives. 

“It’s a great thing,” DeBaryshe said about public preschool programs, “but it’s not a miracle or a silver bullet.” 

A Future For Summer Learning?

In a recent presentation to the state Board of Education, DOE said it’s also working to improve school readiness through summer transition programs serving incoming kindergarteners with little preschool experience. This summer, the program was offered at over 120 schools and was funded using federal Covid-relief dollars. 

By spending a few weeks at their elementary school during the summer, Ushijima said, incoming kindergarteners can learn classroom routines, meet their peers and become more comfortable on campus. The federal funding sustaining the initiative expired this fall, but DOE is requesting nearly $21 million from the Legislature to continue summer learning, including transitional kindergarten programs, in 2025. 

Kalihi Waena Elementary Principal Daniel Larkin said the summer transition program is a popular initiative at his school, where only 30% of kindergarteners have preschool experience. Since the pandemic, he added, it’s been especially important to give students an opportunity to socialize with their peers before starting school and adjust to being away from their families throughout the day.

Once the school year starts, Larkin said, students are more prepared to learn. Even if state funding for summer learning doesn’t come through next year, he added, he’s prepared to use other school funds to continue the program. 

“We’re never planning on stopping,” he said.  

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.