Students in Hawaii’s public schools who study English as a second language and master it before high school are more likely to graduate on time than kids who are native speakers.

Altogether, 90% of students who completed the English Learner program before entering high school went on to graduate on time, according to data presented recently to the state Board of Education. That outpaces the 83% rate for students who never needed such English language support.

“English learners come to us with so many strengths and there is so much research about the power of being a bilingual or multilingual student,” said Heidi Armstrong, assistant superintendent of student support services. “This is important data to show us that if we can capitalize on the gifts, we can have students who can just soar, but we need to capitalize on the gifts.”

In contrast to those who exit the English Learner program before high school, students who are enrolled in it during high school do lag the statewide graduation average, with a 69% on-time graduation rate, as might be expected since they have not yet mastered the language of instruction.

The statistics were revealed at a Nov. 7 “data retreat” for school board members and state Department of Education administrators, which delved into academic performance and efforts to close achievement gaps among various groups. The information on English learners comes from a “Data Story: English Learners” prepared by the Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education and released in August.

Hawaii’s diverse population is reflected in its public schools, with families that speak 70 different languages at home. Ilokano is the most common, followed by Chuukese, Marshallese, Tagalog and Spanish. Nationally, Spanish is by far the most common native language among English learners.

Upon entering public school, students whose home language is not English take an English proficiency test. If they are not proficient, they receive English Learner services.

Roughly 18% of Hawaii’s public school students are or have been English learners. About 7% are actively in the program, compared to a national rate of 9.6%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Among the counties, Maui has the highest percentage of active English learners at 8% and Kauai the lowest at 5%.

Native speakers of Ilokano and Tagalog, both languages of the Philippines, have the highest graduation rates among English learners, according to the analysis, with 95% of each language group graduating on time if they exited English Learner programs before high school.

“Our students who have exited the program are showing much more promising graduating rates than our students who have never been in the program,” Armstrong said. “There is an exception to this — our Marshallese and Chuukese students.”

‘There are many cultural factors that play into these statistics,” she said. “The department is very committed to doing extensive outreach and partnership with our Marshallese and Chuukese students so we can better serve these underrepresented and under-performing subgroups.”

Superintendent Christina Kishimoto noted that a factor in the success of students learning English as a second language is whether they already have high literacy skills in their own language.

The analysis by Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education showed that students who completed the English Learner program before high school also are more likely to enroll in college immediately after graduation, with a rate of 64%, compared to 55% for students who were never in the EL program. And more of them complete degrees or certificates within six years.

In the English Learner program, students are monitored for two years after they meet minimum English proficiency to make sure they get the help they need. Armstrong said the goal is for students to exit the English Learner program within five years.

On Oahu, the complex areas with the most students actively learning English as a second language are McKinley, Farrington and Kaimuki, with more than 20% enrolled.

“We know that learning a second language and also honoring the home language, or the first language that the student knows, is very important in building the identity of the learner,” said Deputy Superintendent Phyllis Unebasami.

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