Nearly a month after it was announced that 60 percent of Hawai'i's public schools had achieved "adequate yearly progress" under No Child Left Behind, additional data released this week show how individual schools performed on a revised test that some say erodes confidence in the results.

Among the factors that principals say made a difference in helping their schools improve were constant assessment of student learning, innovative teaching techniques and even community involvement.

Yet, as principals and school officials pore over the school-by-school results, some Board of Education officials still question whether the dramatic improvement is valid.

The scores were based on a new test that the Department of Education says has become grade-specific, allowing a more accurate measure of how students are doing. But officials are fending off criticism that this year's improved scores are a result of "dumbing-down" the test.

"I want to make sure they really are improving," said Board of Education member Donna Ikeda. "If you change the test, it leaves the whole thing open to a lot of questions."

With the change in tests, 170 Hawai'i schools, or 60.3 percent, achieved the goals mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

That's a change from last year, when just 35.5 percent of the state's 282 tested public schools met the goals. Education and school officials call these results the best they've seen since No Child testing began in 2002.

At Lanakila Elementary School, which met its testing goals for the second consecutive year, thereby pulling it out of sanctions, principal Gerianne Lee said teachers and staff changed the school's daily schedule in order to maximize instruction time. Coupled with constant intervention every time a student fell behind, Lee said, the school was able to make steady progress to become a campus in good standing.

"Everyone bought into and dedicated themselves to change the situation here. The main thing is, we knew we wanted to help the kids," Lee said.

The story at Lanakila Elementary School, which was one of 11 schools to exit sanctions completely this year, is similar to the majority of schools that met their "annual yearly progress."

"It's a lot of hard work," she said.

Principals said they don't agree with criticisms that schools overall performed better because the new test is easier.

"The content was just as challenging," said Palolo Elementary principal Ruth Silberstein. "The skills required to take the test were just as challenging. We worked harder, I think, but the new test was just as hard."

Silberstein said the "seriousness of No Child Left Behind" has caught on with students and students are putting forth more of an effort to achieve.

"The students, the teachers didn't want to get into restructuring. We tried harder on purpose," Silberstein said.

She said those who are questioning the test may not be fully informed about the content being more aligned with what students should actually know.

'Aiea Elementary principal Edward Oshiro said, "When we looked at the test, we felt that the questions were more indicative of what the kids were supposed to be learning."

Oshiro said he felt students and teachers have been working extra hard and there was momentum going into the test.

"Even if we took the old test, I think we would have done just as well," he said.

GRADE-SPECIFIC TESTING

One major difference in the test was that it became grade-specific. For example, fourth-grade students were tested only on work done in that grade, rather than being exposed to questions that relate to fifth-grade work, as in the past.

"The new test is a good indicator of where our students are," said Robert McClelland, head of the DOE's Systems Accountability Office. "The standards themselves are more specific and the test has changed to reflect the new standards."

John Krieck is general manager in Hawai'i for Edison Schools, a private company hired to help under performing schools improve their scores.

He said the new test is a better reflection of how students are doing, and the previous test assessed students on things they hadn't even learned.

That's because the previous test was based on a "grade-band" technique, meaning schools were responsible for covering a certain amount of material in a three-year span. That meant a third-grader could get exposed to a fifth-grade question, he said.

The new test, however, tested third-graders on third-grade material.

"If you're telling teachers to teach to grade-level standards, and then you test them over three grade levels, then you can expect them to get killed — which is exactly what happened. I would say, if anything, this test this year set the norm," Krieck said.

Board of Education member Breene Harimoto said it's appropriate to ask questions about the new test, but he also said it's a time to "pause and celebrate the achievement."

Harimoto said, if anything, the new test is a more accurate reflection of what is really happening in the classroom.

"I think the higher scores have led some people to jump to conclusions that we're dumbing down the test, but what they don't realize is the test is now more closely aligned with the standards."

Oshiro described the mood at 'Aiea Elementary as "ecstatic."

"The teachers and staff have been working together and are committed to educating the children. It's unbelievable what they have helped the students accomplish," he said.

At the school, which had been in restructuring — the worst of the federal sanctions — Oshiro said the key was teachers pulling together and taking ownership of student achievement.

"If you look at the results (at 'Aiea Elementary) over the last three years, there has been significant jumps every year, and we made another 12 percent jump in reading and math again," Oshiro said.

HAVING A 'UNIFIED VISION'

School test records bear out Oshiro's assessment.

In 2005, 29 percent of students were proficient in reading. That rose to 47 percent this year. Similarly, only 9 percent of students were proficient in math in 2005, which jumped to 32 percent this year.

'Aiea Elementary also worked with Edison Schools, a private education company contracted by the DOE to turn the school around.

"There are a couple things that we try to do to help bring the school around. One is an ongoing assessment system," said Krieck, of Edison Schools.

He pointed out that schools Edison assists, such as 'Aiea, use monthly math and reading assessments that are aligned with the state's standards to help teachers figure out what areas students need more help in.

"It's a real-time tool teachers use to know where students are at. They can use it for immediate feedback about a lesson they may have just taught," he said.

Krieck also said it's key for schools to have a "unified vision," meaning curriculum and attitudes are closely aligned to what the state standards expect.

At Lanakila Elementary School, principal Lee said teachers took a very similar approach with constant assessment, but they also came up with their own creative techniques.

For instance, the school modified the daily schedule to help maximize instruction time and teachers were willing to stay after school to conduct "intervention programs."

"We used data from our classes to identify where a child needed extra help. Then we planned intervention," said Janice Ogi, the school's literacy coordinator.

Most students were tested about three times during the school year to assess progress in math and reading. If a student needed more help in an area of reading, such as phonics or fluency, the student would attend after-school sessions with other students who needed help in that area, Ogi said.

Students would be assessed more often, depending on the amount of help they needed, she said.

"We really try to make it a point to do immediate intervention and figure out what kind of immediate action we can make to help a student," Ogi said.

At Palolo Elementary, principal Silberstein said it takes the whole community to bring a school out of sanctions.

In addition to help from outside groups, such as Edison and Los Angeles' Department of School Reform, Silberstein said, community organizations and groups also helped, whether by donating time, money or extra support.

It also took getting parents to be more responsible for their child's learning, Silberstein said.

"It's not something you can do overnight. When you have the kind of immigrant population that this school has, it's a steep uphill climb," she said.

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.