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Kohala Middle School

Public Grades 6-8
54th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 85 Hawaii Middle Schools
Better than 36% of Hawaii middle schools
Summary

Kohala Middle School is a public middle school in Kapaau, HI, serving grades 6–8 with 172 students as part of the Hawaii Department of Education, located in the rural North Kohala area of Hawaii Island.

In 2025–2026, Kohala Middle ranked 54th of 85 Hawaii middle schools (36th percentile, 2 stars), up from 60th of 84 (29th percentile, 2 stars) in 2024–2025. The nearby Waimea Middle - PCCS, about 16 miles away in Kamuela, ranked 42nd of 85 (51st percentile, 3 stars) and scored higher in English language arts (44% vs. 38%), math (36% vs. 31%), and science (38% vs. 31%). Kohala’s math proficiency has improved notably, from 18% in 2022–2023 to 31% in 2025–2026, and science rose from 21.74% in 2023–2024 to 31% in 2025–2026. English language arts fell from 45% in 2022–2023 to 36% in 2024–2025 before rebounding to 38% in 2025–2026. Chronic absenteeism improved to 26.0% in 2024–2025, better than Waimea’s 29.0%, but still means about one in four students is chronically absent.

Compared with Waimea, Kohala serves a lower free/reduced lunch population (49.42% vs. 68.09%) and historically spent more per student ($18,267 in 2018–2019 vs. $10,376), yet its student-teacher ratio is much higher: 17.2 in 2024–2025, up from 12.6, versus 8.3 at Waimea. That ratio is a major operational difference and may affect instructional support. Results for different student groups have been uneven; for example, English learners have ranked highly in some years, while special education students have ranked in the lower quartile. Because subgroup counts are often small, interpret these patterns with caution. Overall, Kohala shows encouraging momentum in math and science, but it remains below the state median and trails Waimea in most academic measures. Watch items include the ELA recovery, the sharp rise in student-teacher ratio, and uneven subgroup support.

172
Students ?
17.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
49.4%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 53-4155 Akoni Pule Hwy
       Kapaau, HI  96755

(808) 889-7119

District: Hawaii Department of Education


Students who attend Kohala Middle School usually attend:

High:    Kohala High School

Feeder schools for Kohala Middle School:

Elementary:    Kohala Elementary School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
30.8%
Pacific Islander:
22.1%
Two or more races:
18.0%
more
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 Compare Kohala Middle School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 40th percentile in 2016 → 36th in 2026
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school33%
54th of 85
Hawaii public middle schools ?
Bottom 36%▼ down 3 pts since 2016
From bottom 40% (2016) to bottom 36% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Hawaii Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
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
202623.454 of 8536.5%★★☆☆☆
202516.860 of 8428.6%★★☆☆☆
202421.858 of 8934.8%★★☆☆☆
202329.352 of 7328.8%★★☆☆☆
202218.759 of 7218.1%★☆☆☆☆
202120.260 of 7317.8%★☆☆☆☆
201928.950 of 7028.6%★☆☆☆☆
201836.141 of 6738.8%★★☆☆☆
201721.052 of 8236.6%★★☆☆☆
201638.644 of 7339.7%★★☆☆☆
201532.048 of 7233.3%★★☆☆☆
201334.754 of 7628.9%★★☆☆☆
201230.853 of 7327.4%★☆☆☆☆
201143.840 of 7143.7%★★☆☆☆
201032.947 of 6527.7%★★☆☆☆
200928.851 of 6825.0%★☆☆☆☆
200819.641 of 4610.9%★☆☆☆☆
200723.456 of 7121.1%★☆☆☆☆
200623.157 of 6917.4%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202493.75 of 7193.0%★★★★★

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202512.845 of 5518.2%★☆☆☆☆
202414.776 of 8712.6%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202457.617 of 8179.0%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202430.847 of 6830.9%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202622.754 of 8435.7%★★☆☆☆

Pacific Islander

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202490.55 of 8193.8%★★★★★

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202515.551 of 5913.6%★☆☆☆☆
20240.076 of 8914.6%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankHawaii percentileRating
202611.965 of 7513.3%★☆☆☆☆
202515.259 of 7420.3%★☆☆☆☆
202424.664 of 8625.6%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Pacific Islander (2024)94th percentile+59 vs school
African American (2024)93rd percentile+58 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)79th percentile+44 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)36th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2024)31st percentile-4 vs school
Asian (2025)18th percentile-10 vs school
Special Education (2025)14th percentile-15 vs school
White (2026)13th percentile-23 vs school
By subject vs Hawaii (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts38%
Mathematics31%
Science31%

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Kohala Middle School

In the 2024-25 school year, 172 students attended Kohala Middle School.

Kohala Middle School ranks 54th of 85 Hawaii middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Kohala Middle School are 31% Hispanic, 22% Pacific Islander, 18% Two or more races, 16% Asian, 12% White, 1% American Indian.

Students who attend Kohala Middle School usually go on to attend Kohala High School

Rate Kohala Middle School!



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HIHawaii Middle School Rankings

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Schools in Kapaau, HI

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Latest Hawaii data All new data »
2025–26 graduation ratesSep 19, 2026
2025–26 HSA & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresSep 19, 2026
2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 18, 2025
2024–25 HSA & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresSep 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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