Baldwin Reports Double-Digit Jump in College-Going Rate

Baldwin HS. File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

The amount of high school students that went on to college experienced a double-digit increase at Maui’s HP Baldwin High School over two years according to a report released today by the state Department of Education.

The report notes a double-digit percentage gain in college-going rates over a two-year period at Baldwin High School where an 11% jump was reported over the same two-year period — 47% in 2010 to 58% in 2012.

The new data was part of an annual report entitled “College and Career Readiness Indicators,” prepared by the DOE and the University of Hawai‘i in cooperation with Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education and Kamehameha Schools.

Overall, the report found that more Hawai‘i public school students from the Class of 2012 enrolled in college compared to the previous year’s graduates, and they were “better prepared” for mathematics and English courses.

Four Maui schools reported increases in college enrollment, with the highest rate of 58%  reported at both HP Baldwin High School and King Kekaulike High School.

Statewide, the report states that college enrollment among 2012 graduates in Hawaiʻi increased from 53% in 2011 to 54% in 2012.

The following college enrollment changes were recorded for Maui schools from 2011 to 2012:

• Increases were reported at: HP Baldwin High School from 56% to 58%; Hāna High School from 47% to 48%; King Kekaulike High School from 51% to 58%; and Lānaʻi High School from 39% to 49%.
• Decreases were reported at: Lahainaluna High School from 53% to 47%; Maui High School from 49% to 48%; and Molokaʻi High School from 51% to 39%.

On-time graduation rates across the state went up by one percentage point from 81% in 2011 to 82% in 2012, with a total of 11,596 students graduating on-time.

Here in Maui County, increases in on-time graduation rates increased at five Maui schools with the highest rate of 98% recorded at Lānaʻi High School, up 12% from the year before. The full results for Maui schools (2011 to 2012) include the following:

• Increases were reported at: HP Baldwin High School 84% to 86%; Maui High School from 77% to 82%; Lahainaluna High School from 82% to 86%; Lānaʻi High School from 86% to 98%; Molokaʻi High School from 76% to 86%.
• Decreases were reported at: Hāna High School from 91% to 89%.
• Unchanged: King Kekaulike High School at 77%.

The percentage of students taking Advanced Placement exams increased to 24% statewide. Here in Maui County, the following AP figures were recorded for 2011 to 2012:

• Increases in AP: Lahainaluna High School from 42 students or (19%) to 45 (23%).
• Decreases in AP: King Kekaulike High School from 105 (42%) to 92 (38%); Maui High School from 112 (31%) to 123 (30%); and Molokaʻi High School from 25 (36%) to 14 (18%).
• Unchanged: HP Baldwin High School from 80 (21%) to 69 (21%); and Hāna High School from 0 to 0.
• Data not reported due to small cell size: Lānaʻi High School.

The report further found that the percentage of Hawaiʻi students who enrolled in a University of Hawaiʻi campus in college-level math was 24%, and in college-level English was 42%.

The percentage of students requiring remedial classes, meantime, dropped to 31% in English and remained at 36% for math statewide.

“This new data is very encouraging, and the upward trend in college-going rates is a positive sign for our students and the state’s economic outlook,” said DOE Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi in a press release.

She continued saying, “The College and Career Readiness Indicators reports provide school administrators and educators with a diverse set of data that will help inform critical decision-making to ensure our graduates are ready to enter college and compete in a global workforce.”