After several years of stagnancy, the number of Hawaii public school graduates enrolling in college after high school has climbed amid efforts by the Department of Education to better prepare students for college and careers.
The college-going rate for public high school graduates increased to 56 percent in 2014, up from 54 percent each of the previous two years and from 50 percent five years ago, according to data released Monday by Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, a nonprofit organization that works to strengthen the "education pipeline" from early childhood to college.
Nearly 6,300 graduates of the class of 2014 enrolled in either a two- or four-year college in the fall, with two-thirds of those students enrolling at a University of Hawaii campus, according to Hawaii P-20’s College and Career Readiness Indicators report.
The increase moves the state closer to its goal of a 71 percent college-going rate by 2018. Nationally, 66 percent of graduates last year enrolled in college after high school.
Kalani High School had the highest college-going rate among last year’s graduating classes, at 77 percent, followed by Kaiser and Waimea high schools, both at 74 percent.
Some schools saw double-digit growth in their college-going rates, including Kalaheo High School — up 15 percentage points to 66 percent — and Waimea High School on Kauai — up 13 percentage points to 74 percent.
The state’s improved college-going rate is coupled with an overall drop in the number of students requiring remedial math and English courses, meaning students are better prepared for college-level learning, said Hawaii P-20 Executive Director Karen Lee.
"Students are way more prepared now for college-level coursework than ever before," Lee said. "Not only are more students going to college, but they’re more prepared for the 100-level coursework."
Of those attending a UH campus, 31 percent enrolled in a remedial math course, down from 32 percent last year and from 36 percent the year before. The drop amounts to 300 fewer students taking remedial math compared with the class of 2012.
About 30 percent of new UH students from public schools had to take remedial English, down from 31 percent each of the last two years.
Remedial courses, which do not earn college credits, are designed to prepare students to complete college-level course requirements. Nationally, about 20 percent of first-year college students require remedial courses.
"It’s hard to send more kids to college and have fewer who need remedial courses. That’s one very positive indicator," Ronn Nozoe, deputy superintendent for the state Department of Education, said in an interview. "The raised standards and higher expectations we have and the improvement in teaching and learning is paying off, because our kids are better prepared for life after high school."
The state two years ago began implementing the more rigorous Common Core standards — nationally crafted academic standards that define, grade by grade, the knowledge and skills students need to graduate from high school ready for college.
"Overall, all of our schools have worked really hard at trying to increase opportunities and successes for students," Nozoe said. "There have been bumps in the road, and it continues to be really hard work. But credit really goes to the schools because they’re the ones who took the challenge to raise the bar to heart."
The college-readiness report shows last year’s graduates also made strides in several other areas, including increased proficiency in math and reading on the state’s standardized assessment; more students earning college credits while still in high school; and more students taking — and passing — advanced-placement courses.
» Overall reading scores increased by 5 percentage points on the Hawaii State Assessment to 72 percent proficiency.
» Overall math scores increased by 5 percentage points on the HSA to 60 percent proficiency.
» The number of graduating seniors who took so-called dual credit courses for college credit while meeting high school diploma requirements increased by about 22 percent to 879 students.
» The number of students who took AP exams increased by 5 percent to 3,158 students, or 28 percent of last year’s graduating class.
» The number of students who passed an AP exam with a 3 or better, making them eligible to earn college credit, increased by 9 percent to 1,355 students, or 43 percent of graduates last year.
The data show several high schools previously considered low-performing have made big improvements in recent years.
Farrington High in Kalihi, for example, boosted its college-going rate to 51 percent from 36 percent in 2010.
Farrington, the state’s third-largest high school with more than 2,400 students, also increased the number of seniors last year taking AP courses and college-level courses for credit.
"The college-going mentality has been increasing, and now the kids aren’t saying ‘if I go to college,’ but ‘when I go to college,’" said Farrington Principal Al Carganilla. "At Farrington we hear a lot of negative stuff, so a lot of times what’s lost is the achievements. Now we can reflect on real numbers and celebrate, knowing everyone’s hard work is paying off."
At Waianae High on the Leeward Coast, the percentage of graduates enrolling in college last year climbed 10 percentage points to 46 percent.
"We were really happy to see the jump in the number of kids going to college. That is exactly what our community needs," said Waianae Principal Disa Hauge, adding that census data show approximately 13 percent of the community holds a college degree.
Waianae seniors who participated in a dual-credit program for college credit last year grew nearly fourfold to 56 students from 15 the previous year.
"Many of our students’ families haven’t gone to college … so how to maneuver that system isn’t well known," Hauge said. "It’s getting that foot in the door … that allows them to then go to college and be successful because they’ll be prepared."
At Keaau High, south of Hilo, the number of graduates equipped to take college-level math and English nearly doubled over the last three years.
"When I got here (in 2011), we were known as the third from the bottom in achievement for high schools, and we knew there was nowhere to go but up," said Keaau Principal Dean Cevallos. "I think because we’ve moved in that direction and we’ve demanded excellence of our teachers, that our kids see that. And with our kids, who depend on us to give them stability, and even food, that they see that our expectations are set to where we believe in them. Once they understand that belief, there is no turning back and they expect nothing less."
