Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Summary:

Waiakeawaena Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Hilo, Hawaii, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 684 students. The school is part of the Hawaii Department of Education district, which is ranked 1 out of 1 in the state and rated 5 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

Over the past 10 years, Waiakeawaena Elementary has consistently ranked in the middle to lower range of Hawaii elementary schools, typically between 80-125 out of 193-207 schools. Its SchoolDigger rating has also fluctuated between 2-3 stars out of 5. The school performs particularly well for its African American students, ranking 1 out of 160 Hawaii elementary schools and receiving a 5-star rating. However, its rankings for other student subgroups, such as Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and Special Education students, are in the lower half of the state. Waiakeawaena Elementary's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates on Smarter Balanced Assessments and the Hawaii State Assessment (HSA), is mixed, with the school performing above the state average in some grade levels and subjects, but struggling in others, particularly in mathematics.

Waiakeawaena Elementary's high chronic absenteeism rate of 22.7% is a concern, as it can significantly impact student learning and academic achievement. This is an area that the school and district should focus on addressing. Compared to nearby schools in the Hilo area, Waiakeawaena Elementary's performance is generally on par with or slightly below the nearby schools, such as Haaheo Elementary and Ernest Bowen DeSilva Elementary, which have higher overall rankings and academic proficiency rates.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 2420 Kilauea Ave
       Hilo, HI  96720


(808) 981-7200

District: Hawaii Department of Education

SchoolDigger Rank:
90th of 207 Hawaii Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $16,286 Help


Students who attend Waiakeawaena Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Waiakea Intermediate School
High:    Waiakea High School

Student/teacher ratio:  13.4 Help
Number of students:  684

Racial breakdown:

Two or more races:
31.1%
Hispanic:
28.7%
Pacific Islander:
23.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  51.9% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Waiakeawaena Elementary School ranks better than 56.5% of elementary schools in Hawaii. It also ranks 87th among 183 ranked elementary schools in the Hawaii Department of Education School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 59.57. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Waiakeawaena Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Hawaii Department of Education School District.  (See more...)
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Waiakeawaena Elementary School is $16,286. 97 elementary schools in the Hawaii Department of Education School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Waiakeawaena Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Waiakeawaena Elementary School 90th of 207 Hawaii public elementary schools. (See Waiakeawaena Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
Pacific Islander students:
White students:


Hawaii Department of Education:

SchoolDigger ranks Hawaii Department of Education 1st of 1 Hawaii school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Waiakeawaena Elementary School?

Rank History for Waiakeawaena Elementary School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 58.11 65th 194 66.5%
2007 50.06 101st 192 47.4%
2008 47.68 86th 146 41.1%
2009 47.41 111th 191 41.9%
2010 46.80 110th 183 39.9%
2011 40.73 121st 191 36.6%
2012 40.61 131st 195 32.8%
2013 47.94 109th 196 44.4%
2015 43.37 115th 194 40.7%
2016 38.90 125th 195 35.9%
2017 50.22 115th 207 44.4%
2018 56.61 89th 193 53.9%
2019 54.23 86th 196 56.1%
2021 40.91 110th 196 43.9%
2022 45.51 101st 193 47.7%
2023 55.91 81st 195 58.5%
2024 59.57 90th 207 56.5%
See the entire list of Hawaii Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 61.87 98th 198 50.5%
See the entire list of Best Hawaii Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 42.84 141st 207 31.9%
See the entire list of Best Hawaii Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 78.19 54th 203 73.4%
See the entire list of Best Hawaii Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 97.58 1st 160 99.4%
See the entire list of Best Hawaii Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 40.87 114th 165 30.9%
See the entire list of Best Hawaii Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Pacific Islander students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 43.93 124th 196 36.7%
See the entire list of Best Hawaii Elementary Schools for Pacific Islander Students!

Rank History for White students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools HI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 51.43 119th 202 41.1%
See the entire list of Best Hawaii Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Hawaii State Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Waiakeawaena Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
State Scores:    
  
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Data source: Hawaii Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
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100%

  

by a parent
Friday, June 5, 2015

Open Quote THE LEADERSHIP HAVE NO VISION OR VIRTUES TO INSTILL ON THE STUDENTS OVERALL. NOT ALL BUT MANY OF THE TEACHERS SEEM TO BE MORE INTERESTED IN THE JOB ASPECT OF TEACHING THAN IN TEACHING, AND ARE WORKING FOR RETIREMENT. THE SCHOOL FOLLOWS THE TRENDS OF THE WORLD, THE GENERAL TEACHER/STUDENT RATIO IS 1/25+, AND THE PARENTS WE MINGLE WITH ALL HAVE CONCERNS AND WISH THERE WAS A BETTER SCHOOL FOR THEIR CHILDREN. A COUPLE OF THE PARENTS ARE HAPPY TO SEE THEIR CHILDREN IN THE LOCAL BAND. WE HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE OUR CHILDREN OUT FOR ANOTHER SCHOOL. WE WANTED TO DO HOMESCHOOLING BUT THAT IS NOT AN OPTION FOR US AS WE WORK TOO HARD ALREADY.
WE MUST TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT THE STATE AND THE UNION HAVE ROBBED THE DUTY AND BLESSING FROM MOST OF OUR TEACHERS, AND TURNED IT INTO A JOB.
OUR CHILDREN KNOW MORE ABOUT FAIRY TALES AND NOVELS THAN ABOUT HISTORY AND REAL PEOPLE THAT COULD CHALLENGE AND BUILD MORALS, VALUES AND ETHICS TO YOUNG MINDS. WE NEVER TOUGHT WE WOULD HAVE SO MUCH WORRY ABOUT OUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION AND INFLUENCES THAT EFFECT CHARACTER TURNING CHILDREN INTO CONSUMER HUMANOIDS AND DIGITAL NERDS, THAT LILFE IS ALL ABOUT MAKING MONEY AND HAVING FUN. WE LIVE TWO BLOCKS FROM THIS SCHOOL, AND HAVE DECIDED TO TAKE OUR CHILDREN OUT OF Waiakeawaena Elementary School. IT IS VERY SAD.
. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Waiakeawaena Elementary School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 158 2 807 19 2 n/a n/a 0 988
1989 166 5 799 23 2 n/a n/a 0 995
1990 159 4 785 21 3 n/a n/a 0 972
1991 163 23 810 2 3 n/a n/a 0 1001
1992 128 2 759 84 3 n/a n/a 0 976
1993 148 5 758 79 2 n/a n/a -1 991
1994 154 5 702 87 2 n/a n/a 0 950
1995 163 1 689 78 2 n/a n/a -1 932
1996 163 1 689 78 2 n/a n/a -1 932
1997 154 3 673 76 2 n/a n/a 16 924
1998 136 3 669 71 2 n/a n/a 0 881
1999 120 4 662 63 3 n/a n/a 0 852
2000 107 2 661 52 1 n/a n/a 0 823
2001 103 2 658 50 1 n/a n/a 0 814
2002 102 3 595 58 1 n/a n/a 0 759
2003 102 3 595 58 1 n/a n/a 0 759
2004 101 6 580 48 1 n/a n/a 0 736
2005 113 5 584 42 0 n/a n/a 0 744
2006 103 7 547 43 2 n/a n/a 0 702
2007 97 2 580 52 2 n/a n/a 0 733
2008 88 3 629 48 4 n/a n/a 0 772
2009 87 1 641 45 4 n/a n/a 0 778
2010 75 6 614 53 4 n/a n/a 0 752
2011 60 4 241 22 3 368 55 0 753
2012 75 3 243 47 2 296 44 0 710
2013 65 0 227 111 1 285 49 0 738
2014 68 3 238 134 0 255 21 0 719
2015 58 3 216 143 0 198 49 0 667
2016 53 2 192 176 0 192 97 0 712
2017 50 0 163 208 0 167 126 0 714
2018 38 0 136 208 0 183 168 0 733
2019 39 0 121 198 0 174 183 0 715
2020 30 0 100 210 0 183 208 0 731
2021 26 0 97 204 0 172 222 0 721
2022 34 0 86 202 0 160 214 0 696
2023 32 1 82 196 0 160 213 0 684

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Waiakeawaena Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 988 46.5 21.2 25.5
1989 995 46.0 21.6 24.2
1990 972 47.5 20.4 26.5
1991 1001 48.0 20.8 22.7
1992 976 48.0 20.3 24.2
1993 991 48.0 20.6 20.9
1994 950 45.5 20.9 14.2
1995 932 47.0 19.8 16.3
1996 932 47.0 19.8 16.3
1997 924 46.0 20.1 32.7
1998 881 44.0 20.0 31.2
1999 852 44.0 19.4 40.4
2000 823 42.0 19.6 44.5
2001 814 44.0 18.5 48.5
2002 759 42.0 18.1 50.7
2003 759 42.0 18.1 50.7
2004 736 41.0 18.0 47.6
2005 744 45.0 16.5 46.4
2006 702 44.0 16.0 46.2
2007 733 43.0 17.0 44.1
2008 772 45.0 17.2 39.6
2009 778 46.0 16.9 44.1
2010 752 45.0 16.7 48.9
2011 753 46.0 16.3 49.1
2012 710 45.0 15.7 49.4
2013 738 45.0 16.4 57.9
2014 719 45.0 15.9 58.8
2015 667 44.0 15.1 59.5
2016 712 46.0 15.4 60.1
2017 714 45.0 15.8 58.4
2018 733 46.0 15.9 57
2019 715 50.0 14.3 56.1
2020 731 51.0 14.3 55.4
2021 721 54.0 13.3 55.8
2022 696 54.0 12.8 55.2
2023 684 51.0 13.4 51.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Waiakeawaena Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 988 46.5 21.2 25.5
1989 995 46.0 21.6 24.2
1990 972 47.5 20.4 26.5
1991 1001 48.0 20.8 22.7
1992 976 48.0 20.3 24.2
1993 991 48.0 20.6 20.9
1994 950 45.5 20.9 14.2
1995 932 47.0 19.8 16.3
1996 932 47.0 19.8 16.3
1997 924 46.0 20.1 32.7
1998 881 44.0 20.0 31.2
1999 852 44.0 19.4 40.4
2000 823 42.0 19.6 44.5
2001 814 44.0 18.5 48.5
2002 759 42.0 18.1 50.7
2003 759 42.0 18.1 50.7
2004 736 41.0 18.0 47.6
2005 744 45.0 16.5 46.4
2006 702 44.0 16.0 46.2
2007 733 43.0 17.0 44.1
2008 772 45.0 17.2 39.6
2009 778 46.0 16.9 44.1
2010 752 45.0 16.7 48.9
2011 753 46.0 16.3 49.1
2012 710 45.0 15.7 49.4
2013 738 45.0 16.4 57.9
2014 719 45.0 15.9 58.8
2015 667 44.0 15.1 59.5
2016 712 46.0 15.4 60.1
2017 714 45.0 15.8 58.4
2018 733 46.0 15.9 57
2019 715 50.0 14.3 56.1
2020 731 51.0 14.3 55.4
2021 721 54.0 13.3 55.8
2022 696 54.0 12.8 55.2
2023 684 51.0 13.4 51.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Help

YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,496 (9.2%) $14,790 (90.8%) $16,286

Data source: Hawaii Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Waiakeawaena Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 86th of 196 Elementary schoolsRanks 81st of 195 Elementary schools
 2.3%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)4236
 6%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Hawaii)5349
 4%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)5242
 10%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Hawaii)5652
 4%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)6358
 5%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Hawaii)5251
 1%
4th Grade Mathematics (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)6364
 1%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Hawaii)4950
 1%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)6164
 3%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Hawaii)5755
 2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)4745
 2%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Hawaii)4444
All Grades English Language Arts (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)5453
 1%
All Grades Mathematics (Waiakeawaena Elementary School)5250
 2%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students715684
 4.3%
African American01
American Indian00
Asian12182
 32.2%
Hispanic198196
 1%
Pacific Islander174160
 8%
White3932
 17.9%
Two or More Races183213
 16.4%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients56.1%51.9%
 4.2%


Schools Near Waiakeawaena Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Waiakeawaena Elementary School

Students who attend Waiakeawaena Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Waiakea Intermediate School
High : Waiakea High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 684 students attended Waiakeawaena Elementary School.

Waiakeawaena Elementary School ranks 90th of 207 Hawaii elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Waiakeawaena Elementary School are 31% Two or more races, 29% Hispanic, 23% Pacific Islander, 12% Asian, 5% White.


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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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