Best High Schools in Zip Code 96706

ZIP code 96706 covers the Ewa Beach and Kapolei communities on Oahu, and it has two public high schools serving grades 9–12 under the Hawaii Department of Education: James Campbell High School in Ewa Beach, with 2,890 students, and Kapolei Charter School by Goodwill Hawaii in Kapolei, with 138 students. Together they enroll 3,028 high schoolers, and James Campbell accounts for about 95.4% of that total — roughly 20.9 times the size of Kapolei Charter.

James Campbell High School is the standout in this area. In 2025–2026 it ranked 13th of 65 schools, at the 80th percentile with 4 stars, and it has held steady near that spot for three years (14th of 67, then 12th of 62, then 13th of 65). It posts the higher graduation rate (86.0% vs 80.0%), lower chronic absenteeism (25.0% vs 30.0%), and higher proficiency in every subject and year shown — including 57% vs 36% in ELA, 26% vs 8% in math, and 48% vs 19% in Biology I in 2025–2026. Kapolei Charter School by Goodwill Hawaii has moved the other way: from 35th of 67 and 3 stars two years earlier to 56th of 65, the 14th percentile, and 1 star. The gap between the two schools grew from 31 percentile points to 66 over three years. Kapolei's only gain was in Biology I, which rose from 17% to 19%, while ELA fell from 41% to 36% and math from 14% to 8%.

A few cautions are worth keeping in mind. Kapolei Charter's enrollment of 138 means a handful of students can move a percentage by several points, so its swings should be read with that volatility in mind. Math is the weaker subject at both schools, and chronic absenteeism is a challenge at each — even the stronger school has a quarter of students chronically absent. James Campbell also has the higher free/reduced lunch rate (33.32% vs 24.64%), a lower student-teacher ratio (15.0 vs 19.7), and much higher per-student spending ($15,035 vs $8,458), though that spending figure is from 2018–2019 and should be treated as historical context rather than current funding.