Summary:
ZIP code 96792 covers the Waianae and Nanakuli communities on Leeward Oahu and contains 11 schools serving students from elementary through high school: seven elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools, and one alternative PK-12 charter school, all part of the Hawaii Department of Education. Together they enroll 8,103 students, from 1,551 at Waianae High School down to 384 at Nanakuli Elementary School, with a median school size of 707. The area is high-need: average free/reduced lunch participation is about 73.7%, and average chronic absenteeism is about 46.9%.
Leihoku Elementary School is the strongest performer overall, ranking 108 of 203 (47th percentile) with the best-balanced proficiency in the ZIP — ELA 51%, math 41%, science 45% — and the lowest student-teacher ratio at 10.8:1. Waianae High School has the highest ELA proficiency at 52% and the best upward trajectory, climbing from the 12th percentile in 2023-24 to the 40th percentile in 2025-26. At the other end, Nanakuli Elementary School ranks 200 of 203 (1st percentile, ELA 18%, math 19%) and Waianae Elementary School ranks 197 of 203 (3rd percentile, ELA 17%, math 18%). Maili Elementary School also declined, with ELA falling from 40% to 32% and science from 31% to 20%.
Across the ZIP, the median ranked school sits at the 9th percentile, and no school reaches the 50th percentile. Chronic absenteeism is a system-wide challenge: it ranges from 39% to 55%, and five schools are at 50% or higher. Spending does not track simply with outcomes — Nanakuli High & Intermediate School has the highest per-student spending at $18,806 but ranks in the 9th percentile with math at 11%, while Ka Waihona o ka Naauao - PCS has the lowest spending at $9,080. Graduation rates are 75%, 75%, and 70% at the three schools reporting them, showing that persistence and test proficiency measure different things.
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