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Konawaena High School

Public Grades 9-12
15th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 65 Hawaii High Schools
Better than 77% of Hawaii high schools
Summary

Konawaena High School is a grades 9–12 school in Kealakekua, Hawaii, serving 955 students as part of the Hawaii Department of Education, and it currently ranks 15th of 65 Hawaii high schools in 2025–2026 — placing it in the 77th percentile with a 4-star rating.

Parents should know this is a school on a long upward trajectory. Back in 2016–2017 it ranked 45th of 63 (29th percentile, 2 stars); the latest year is a strong rebound after a dip to 32nd of 62 in 2024–2025. Academically, English language arts is a clear strength: 75% proficiency in 2025–2026, up from 55% the year before, and well above Kealakehe High School (64%) and West Hawaii Explorations Academy (46%). Math is the opposite story. Only 14% of students met proficiency, down from 15% and 19.6% in prior years, and the lowest of the three schools (Kealakehe 26%, West Hawaii 23%). That 61-point gap between ELA and math far exceeds the gaps at nearby schools. Science/Biology proficiency sits at 32%, trailing both comparison schools in 2025–2026.

Graduation is a genuine bright spot: 85.0% in 2024–2025, the highest among the three schools and a jump from 74.2% the previous year. The concern sitting alongside it is chronic absenteeism, at 31.0% — unchanged from the year before and the highest nearby (Kealakehe 19.0%, West Hawaii 26.0%). Nearly one in three students misses enough school to be considered chronically absent. The school serves a high-need population (51.73% free/reduced lunch) and performs well for several student groups, including low-income students (80th percentile, 4 stars) and students with disabilities, while other groups show inconsistent results from year to year. Resource data from 2018–2019 showed the highest per-student spending of the three ($16,244), but also the largest classes at 18:1.

955
Students ?
18.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,244
Per pupil spending ?
51.7%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
 81-1043 Konawaena School Rd
       Kealakekua, HI  96750

(808) 323-4500

District: Hawaii Department of Education


Feeder schools for Konawaena High School:

Elementary:    Honaunau Elementary School
    Hookena Elementary School
    Kahakai Elementary School
    Konawaena Elementary School
Middle:    Konawaena Middle School
Racial breakdown:

Pacific Islander:
30.6%
Hispanic:
24.6%
White:
16.5%
more
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 Compare Konawaena High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 45th percentile in 2016 → 77th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranks in the top 23% of Hawaii high schools
✓Ranking is trending up — up 32 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school40%
15th of 65
Hawaii public high schools ?
Top 23%▲ up 32 pts since 2016
From bottom 45% (2016) to top 23% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Hawaii High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
13th of 42High Schools in the Hawaii Department of Education
1st of 1Hawaii Department of Education among Hawaii districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202646.415 of 6576.9%★★★★☆
202534.232 of 6248.4%★★★☆☆
202456.921 of 6768.7%★★★★☆
202349.728 of 5347.2%★★★☆☆
202263.418 of 5265.4%★★★☆☆
202165.421 of 4856.3%★★★☆☆
201960.921 of 5259.6%★★★☆☆
201864.318 of 5366.0%★★★★☆
201718.645 of 6328.6%★★☆☆☆
201644.029 of 5345.3%★★☆☆☆
201535.836 of 5129.4%★★☆☆☆
201338.238 of 5632.1%★★☆☆☆
201250.331 of 5846.6%★★☆☆☆
201162.522 of 5660.7%★★★☆☆
201060.723 of 5658.9%★★★☆☆
200943.131 of 5543.6%★★☆☆☆
200837.629 of 3925.6%★☆☆☆☆
200759.327 of 6055.0%★★★☆☆
200645.032 of 5642.9%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202445.637 of 5532.7%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202661.711 of 4072.5%★★★★☆
202544.117 of 4158.5%★★★☆☆
202475.19 of 6586.2%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202617.422 of 2924.1%★☆☆☆☆
202542.29 of 3372.7%★★★★☆
202434.830 of 5949.2%★★★☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
20256.28 of 80.0%★☆☆☆☆
202443.740 of 5223.1%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202651.313 of 6479.7%★★★★☆

Pacific Islander

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202531.820 of 3237.5%★★☆☆☆
202430.541 of 6132.8%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202553.113 of 3865.8%★★★☆☆
202457.626 of 6761.2%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202640.121 of 5360.4%★★★☆☆
202541.821 of 5158.8%★★★☆☆
202458.719 of 6470.3%★★★★☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)80th percentile+3 vs school
Asian (2026)72nd percentile-4 vs school
Special Education (2025)66th percentile+17 vs school
White (2026)60th percentile-17 vs school
Pacific Islander (2025)38th percentile-11 vs school
African American (2024)33rd percentile-36 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)24th percentile-53 vs school
Hispanic (2025)<1st percentile-48 vs school
By subject vs Hawaii (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts75%
Biology I32%
Mathematics14%

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What people are saying
by a parent
Saturday, April 21, 2012

Open Quote I have have two kid in this school. One just graduated and the other is in the ninth grade. This is by far the worst school I have ever been associated with. My son tried to take advanced Spanish but was told by the Spanish teacher that his class was used for homework and if time allowed, for movies. Then he went to Geometry and was told by the teacher that paddling was the focus and if he paddled he would pass geometry. My son paddled to pass since there was not actual teaching. Then his English teacher had some kind of a nervous breakdown in class and the students were unable to have proper communication with her. Now my daughter is having the same issues. The Algebra teacher will not teach and only passes kids cause she has too, not to lose her job. All she does is give out papers and tells them to learn it. When we approached the teacher, she gave us a number for tutoring. The tutor is great but now the teacher is upset with the fact that now my daughter knows more then she does and does not give her credit for knowing but give the other students credit for trying. There are 20 students in that class and only 7 stay, the rest leave to cruise the hallways because she wont teach. Kids in this school can just get up and leave the class anytime they want. The algebra teacher told all the students to leave because they were asking questions and when they came back she scolded them for leaving. The students have actually told her to take tutoring herself. The principal is nowhere to be found and the students never interact with him. This school only gets higher rating than others in Hawaii because the numbers are not correct and teachers fudge them. My son went to talk to a counselor and was told to come back because they did not want to stop their fun time to handle issues that really don't matter. WOW!!!!!!!! Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Konawaena High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 955 students attended Konawaena High School.

Students at Konawaena High School are 31% Pacific Islander, 25% Hispanic, 17% White, 16% Two or more races, 12% Asian.

Konawaena High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Honaunau Elementary School
Elementary : Hookena Elementary School
Elementary : Kahakai Elementary School
Elementary : Konawaena Elementary School
Middle : Konawaena Middle School

Konawaena High School ranks 15th of 65 Hawaii high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

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Latest Hawaii data All new data »
2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026
2025–26 graduation ratesSep 19, 2026
2025–26 HSA & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresSep 19, 2026
2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 18, 2025


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Hawaii State Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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