Momilani Elementary School

Momilani Elementary School is a PK–6 public school in Pearl City, HI, serving 412 students as part of the Hawaii Department of Education. It has been a sustained top-tier performer: ten consecutive years at 5 out of 5 stars, a ten-year percentile never below 96, and six years as the #1-ranked elementary school in Hawaii from 2017–18 through 2022–23. In 2025–26, it ranked 8th of 203 schools (96th percentile).

Compared with nearby schools, Momilani leads the local peer group in all three tested subjects: 80% proficient in ELA, 76% in Math, and 76% in Science. Palisades Elementary School is close on ELA and Math (77% and 72%), while Pearl City Highlands School has 76% ELA and 73% Math but only 45% Science. Momilani’s chronic absenteeism is a dramatic outlier at 3.0%, versus a peer average of about 17.6% and 9.0% at the next-lowest school. Its low-income share is also the lowest locally at 16.5%, compared with a peer average of about 40%. Yet it has the largest classes in the group—17.5 students per teacher—and among the lowest per-student spending ($14,779 in 2018–19).

The main caution is the 2025–26 softening: ELA fell from 82% to 80%, Math from 83% to 76%, and Science from 87% to 76% (after 89.66% in 2023–24). That 7-point Math drop and 11-point Science drop came while absenteeism improved from 5.9% to 3.0%, so attendance does not explain the decline. Low-income enrollment has risen from 12.75% to 15.48% to 16.5% over two years—still far below peers but worth monitoring. The school remains above average for every reported subgroup, including low-income students (88th percentile) and special-education students (84th percentile); English learners rank 70th percentile. Palisades Elementary School is a genuine near-peer, but Momilani’s ten straight 5-star years and much lower absenteeism (3.0% vs. 14.0%) are unmatched locally. Bottom line: still top-decile, but watch Math and Science next cycle.