Though Native Hawaiian eighth-graders have shown improvements in reading and math proficiency, they continue to lag behind their non-Native Hawaiian peers, a new study finds.

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning, which conducted the study, said the report’s findings aren’t surprising, but underscore the need for more interventions to boost the achievement of Native Hawaiian students.

"At the state level, we still see a gap" in achievement, said Ormond Hammond, PREL director. "I was really hoping that we would have been able to report that the gap has significantly narrowed, but it hasn’t."

The achievement gap represents the difference in the percentage of all students proficient in a subject versus the percentage of a particular subgroup — in this case, Native Hawaiians — who are proficient.

From 2004-05 to 2008-09, the achievement gap between Native Hawaiian and non-Native Hawaiian eighth-graders in math fluctuated, from a high of 20.7 percentage points to a low of 14.4 percentage points.

Meanwhile, the achievement gap in reading narrowed, from 19.5 percentage points to 15.6 percentage points.

Hammond said that while Native Hawaiian eighth-graders still lag behind their peers on the Hawaii State Assessment, they have seen improvements overall.

The study, released last month, notes that the results come as the state Department of Education is working to close the achievement gap for Native Hawaiians, disadvantaged students and other subgroups.

It also highlights research dating back to the 1980s documenting the achievement gap of Native Hawaiian students.

In 2008-09, Native Hawaiians made up the largest single racial or ethnic subgroup among eighth-graders in Hawaii public schools, constituting about 27 percent of all eighth-graders.

The study notes that in addition to the achievement gap, there are concerns about the rates at which Native Hawaiian students score "well below" proficiency, which was higher for the group than for the student population overall.