Royal Elementary School

Royal Elementary School is a PK–5 school at 1519 Queen Emma St in central Honolulu that serves about 293 students — a smaller enrollment than most nearby schools — as part of the statewide Hawaii Department of Education.

For 2025-2026, Royal ranks 126th of 203 Hawaii elementary schools — the 38th percentile, or 2 stars — with proficiency of 43% in English language arts, 42% in math, and 44% in science. Those scores trail the nearby average of roughly 52% in each subject, and Royal places fourth-lowest of the 11 nearby schools in reading. About 65.2% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, close to the nearby average of about 62%, and per-student spending is $17,407 (2018-19, the most recent year available), essentially at the neighborhood average. Class size, at 13.9:1, is tied for the largest among nearby schools. In short, funding and demographics don't set Royal apart from its neighbors — results do.

The bigger story is a long slide. Royal ranked 32nd of 195 Hawaii elementary schools in 2015-2016 (84th percentile, 4 stars) and has since fallen to the 38th percentile. The erosion is concentrated in reading: ELA proficiency dropped from 56% to 43% over four years, while math stayed roughly flat and science actually improved from 39.5% to 44%. Chronic absenteeism sits at 27.0% and has been flat for two years. Nearby Kalihi Kai Elementary School and Lanakila Elementary School, which serve similar populations, post much higher proficiency with absenteeism of just 16% and 18%. Royal's closest demographic match, Queen Kaahumanu Elementary School, shows nearly identical outcomes. Attendance and early literacy look like the highest-leverage places to focus. Also note that science is measured by a different test (HSA) than reading and math (Smarter Balanced), so those levels aren't directly comparable across subjects.