Testing Discrimination

The purpose of the DOE’s Hawaii Standard Assessments is to meet or exceed standards of the No Child Left Behind Act and are administered, in English, in all of Hawaiʻi’s public schools. Pehea naʻe kēia no nā kula kaiapuni o Hawaiʻi nei?

Wahi a Pila Wilson, mai Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language ma ke Kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo, “I loko o ka kānāwai, No Child Left Behind, ʻaʻole hiki ke kāʻili ʻia nā pono siwila o nā kumu, nā keiki, nā ʻohana ma loko o kēia kānāwai.”

Haʻi pū mai ʻo Kalehua Krug, he makua no ke Kula Kaiapuni o Ānuenue, “ʻo ka HSA, ka testing, ke walaʻau ʻia nei ka hāʻawi ʻana i ka hōʻike i unuhi ʻia mai ka ʻōlelo Haole a i ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. No laila, ʻo kekahi mea i hāpai ʻia, he mea kēlā e ʻaʻe ai i nā pono siwila o ke kanaka, nā keiki a me nā kumu i loko o ka papahana.”

Koi ʻia kēlā me kēia mokuʻāina o ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa e haku a hāʻawi aku i ka hōʻike hoʻokahi i nā haumāna a pau. Ma Hawaiʻi, ma ka ʻōlelo Haole nō ia hōʻike.

Wahi a Koleka Haia, he kumu ma ke Kula Kaiapuni o Waiau, “ʻo ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kekahi o nā ʻōlelo kūhelu o kēia mokuʻāina. ʻO ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi kekahi, a me ka ʻōlelo Haole. ʻAʻole nui nā kānaka i ʻike i kēlā. Manaʻo wale nō lākou, ʻo ka ʻōlelo Haole ka ʻōlelo o kēia mokuʻāina.”

“Ua poina ʻia, ʻo Hawaiʻi nei, ma loko o ke kānāwai, he mokuʻāina me ʻelua ʻōlelo kūhelu. A he mau kula i loko o ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.” wahi a Pila.

“ʻOiai hoʻomaka kēia hōʻike HSA ma ka papa 3 ma ka mokuʻāina holoʻokoʻa, pono nā keiki papa 3 papa 4 e hana i ia mea ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Akā nō naʻe, ua unuhi hāiki ʻia, e kekahi mau kānaka, a ʻano pilikia, ʻano paʻakikī ʻoiai, ʻaʻohe kuanaʻike, ʻaʻole nui ke kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi. He hōʻike ʻōlelo Pelekānia i unuhi hāiki ʻia.” wahi a Koleka.

Haʻi hou mai ʻo Pila iā mākou, “ʻo ka pilikia nui o kēia, ʻo ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ka ʻōlelo kūhelu o Hawaiʻi nei. Akā, koi mai ana ka pekelala e hāʻawi ʻia ka hōʻike ma ka ʻōlelo Haole. A laila, hoʻāʻo ke aupuni e hana i ka hōʻike ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, kekahi o nā papa, a hemahema loa ka hōʻike. No laila, ma nā ala ʻelua ua hanaʻino nā keiki, nā kumu, nā ʻohana i loko o kēia papahana.”

Wahi a kekahi mau lālā o nā kula kaiapuni, ʻaʻole e ʻimi ana lākou e pakele i ka hana i kēia hōʻike, akā e ʻimi ana lākou i hōʻike kūpono no ke kālailai maikaʻi ʻana i ka holomua ʻana o nā haumāna ma o ko lākou ʻōlelo a kuanaʻike ʻōiwi.

“ʻAʻole kēia he pilikia no nā Hawaiʻi wale nō. Inā lanakila ka Hawaiʻi, lanakila nā ʻōiwi a pau o ʻAmelika. Pono e hoʻoponopono ʻia.” wahi a Pila.

Mau nō ka mālama ʻia ʻana o nā hālāwai no ka ʻimi ʻana i kekahi ala i mea e holomua pono ai ka DOE a me nā Papahana Kula Kaiapuni ma kēia hana hōʻike. E hoʻi mai nō iā ʻŌiwiTV no kekahi mau ʻikepili hou aku e pili ana i kēia hana. ʻO wau nō ʻo Kuʻulei Bezilla no ʻŌiwiTV, aloha.

The purpose of the DOE’s Hawaii Standard Assessments is to meet or exceed standards of the No Child Left Behind Act and are administered, in English, in all of Hawaiʻi’s public schools. But what does that mean for our Hawaiian Immersion schools?

Pila Wilson, from Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani Colege of Hawaiian Language at UH-Hilo says, “under the NCLB Act, it states that our civil rights can’t be violated.

“The discussions and decisions to simply translate the English HSA into Hawaiian are raising concerns as this may be a violation of our students civil rights.” says Kalehua Krug, a parent from Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Ānuenue.

No Child Left Behind requires that each state administer one standardized test. For Hawaiʻi, this means that test is in English.

According to Koleka Haia, a teacher at Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Waiau, “like English, the Hawaiian Language is one of the official languages of the state. A lot of people fail to recognize that.”

“No Child Left Behind disregards this fact that Hawaiʻi has two official languages and that we have schools administered in Hawaiian.” says Pila.

Koleka says that, “HSA testing starts at grade 3. So our 3rd and 4th graders take a test that has been translated into Hawaiian. But the translation is too literal and is entirely out of context culturally and liguistically.”

“The issue is that state law recognizes two languages, but federal policy is requiring that the test be in English. The state has tried but failed at translating the test; doing a disservice to these students.” says Pila.

According to Hawaiian Immersion proponents, the issue is not avoiding the tests, but rather having more accurate testing in the native language and culture.

Pila later says that, “it isn’t just a problem for Hawaiians. If Hawaiians suceed, so do other Native Americans. This issue must be resolved.”

Discussions continue to seek ways of success for both the DOE and the Hawaiian Immersion Program. Stay tuned for updates on this issue here on ʻŌiwiTV. This is Kuʻulei Bezilla with ʻŌiwiTV, aloha.