Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 6, 1 June 2017 — DOE adopts Hawaiian language standards [ARTICLE]

DOE adopts Hawaiian language standards

In a victory for kaiapuni students, the Department of Education unanimously adopted K-12 Hawaiian language standards to meet the needs of students learning in 'ōlelo Hawai'i. That means next school year, students in Hawaiian language

immersion programs will be held to academic standards as rigorous as the college and career-readiness standards in traditional puhlie schools but with additional standards reflecting Hawaiian culture, worldview and Hawaiian language acquisition. The standards will be usedto create new assessments that measure what kaiapuni students are actually leaming in class, as concerns had been raised over administering a version of the Hawai'i State Assessment that had been translated from English to Hawaiian, not always accurately.