WHEREAS, the Legislature and the Board of Education have adopted the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (HCPS) to guide Hawaii's public school educational programs; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's public schools have developed and implemented standards-based curriculum and assessments to further student achievement; and

WHEREAS, with the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, Hawaii public schools are required to set annual performance goals and show annual progress in student achievement, based upon the State HCPS; and

WHEREAS, while standardized curriculum and assessments are important factors in student achievement, there are other factors that support or adversely impact student success; and

WHEREAS, for many years, there have been ongoing discussions about the level of school funding, the condition of school facilities, and the governance structure of the public school systems, as factors in student achievement; and

WHEREAS, these discussions are based in comparative analyses between Hawaii and other states or educational jurisdictions, but not necessarily comparing achievement within the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, most educational researchers agree that there are many variables that positively impact student learning, such as school size, class size, length of school day, and length of the school year; and

WHEREAS, the age of Hawaii's public school facilities, and the lack of environmental controls such as central air conditioning and ventilation, are also factors that could affect student achievement; and

WHEREAS, due to the age of some facilities, infrastructure to support computer technology is insufficient and costly, yet the use of information technology in 21^st century schools is a key factor in student's learning of content knowledge and in becoming computer literate; and

WHEREAS, a comparative analysis of student achievement data across the State and for a period that includes several years, considering various factors that could positively and adversely impact on student learning would assist in identifying factors that contribute to successful schools; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Department of Education, with the assistance of the College of Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the Hawaii Educational Policy Center, is requested to formulate a plan to gather, analyze, and report longitudinal data on student achievement, beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, and on an annual basis thereafter; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this plan include a proposal from the Department of Education for the implementation of an expanded student data system that will more specifically identify factors influencing student achievement; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, the Chairperson of the State Board of Education, the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the Executive Director of the Hawaii Educational Policy Center at the University of Hawaii.

Report Title:

Public Schools; Longitudinal Student Achievement Data