Summary:
Captain Cook, Hawaii, has 2 public elementary schools, both serving PK–5: Honaunau Elementary School and Hookena Elementary School, all within the Hawaii Department of Education. There are no middle or high schools in this data set, so older students likely transition outside the immediate area. Combined enrollment is 246 students, with Honaunau enrolling 148 and Hookena 98.
Honaunau has the stronger current profile: 3 stars in each of the last three years, a 2025–2026 rank of 101 of 203 (50th percentile), and chronic absenteeism of 24.0%. Hookena is the improvement standout: its rank moved from 163 of 207 (21st percentile, 1 star) in 2023–2024 to 133 of 204 (35th percentile, 2 stars) in 2024–2025 to 107 of 203 (47th percentile, 2 stars) in 2025–2026, and its test scores rose in ELA (+8 points), math (+5), and science (+8) from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026. However, Hookena’s chronic absenteeism is 57.0%, more than double Honaunau’s 24.0%, which is a major challenge.
In 2024–2025, Honaunau led Hookena in ELA by 9 points, math by 11 points, and science by 31 points; by 2025–2026, those gaps were ELA +1 for Honaunau, math −1 for Honaunau, and science +7 for Honaunau. Honaunau’s science proficiency fell from 56% to 40%, while Hookena’s rose from 25% to 33%. Honaunau has a much higher free/reduced-lunch rate (93.24% vs. 65.31%), yet generally higher test scores and lower absenteeism. Per-student spending was similar ($18,198 vs. $19,003), and student-teacher ratios were close (13.4 vs. 14.0), so these do not obviously explain the differences. Overall, Honaunau is the standout for current performance and attendance, while Hookena is the standout for momentum, with absenteeism and science proficiency as its key challenges.
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