I stand ready to answer any questions you might have on this bill. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Thank you, Superintendent. Members, questions? Maybe it's better to take everybody's testimony. Last question. We can do that. We'll take everyone's testimony first. Ivan Laauo, interim executive director, Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission. Good afternoon, Chair Kadani, Vice Chair Con, members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity. Ivon Laauo, interim executive director of the Charter School Commission. Thank you for the opportunity to testify and I offer and stand on our written testimony and support with comments. Thank you. Thank you. Next, Canela Kamahalo Hanu Eli in opposition. Next, Kyani, chief executive officer for Aloha. Um, I'm the and I stand on my written testimony.
I'm also here to answer any questions that you folks might have. Mahalu. Her testimony is in opposition. Yes, in opposition. Mahalo. Shannon Matson on Zoom also. Shannon Matson. Shannon, are you there? Apologies. Yep. Apologies. I was trying to unmute. Um, aloha, Chair Kani, and members of the committee. Um, I submitted testimony in opposition and I'm grateful to have um been able to hear the uh statement from the superintendent um before uh replying a bit further. Um I hear uh his testimony that it's just another tool for support, but I am still opposed as a parent of two Kiki uh one in Punano and one in Navajo. Um, as a parent and as a taxpayer, um, I I don't think that this additional assessment is necessary, I trust, um, the Kumos to determine, um, what their level is. And they have their own tests already designed, um, in Hawaiian language, uh, that are not translated from English to Hawaiian.
I think that those tests are are already sufficient and valuable and that we don't need to spend any more money or time creating a standardization for this. Um, so I'm I'm still in opposition. Mahalo. Thank you. Mitsy Higa testifying for HSTA. I'm not sure. Is she on Zoom? doesn't say it. Um, Bitsya, are you on Zoom? No. Um, Megan Makua Iona, is anyone else here to testify on this measure? There's a list, but it doesn't say if they're going to be present or not. Please come forward. Aloha kayaka chair, vice chair and the education committee. My name is Shong or my American name is Angela Melody Young. Um I'm an advocate um and a founder of my grassroots cares and I'm a constituent of Kohi Kapalama. Um testifying in strong support of the um measure. The purpose of this act is to require the board of education to develop an assessment for those who are entering kindergarten in Oello Havi for ka papa kaya a puni and the and doe shall administer the assessment.
Um and I'm just going to give a brief background history about the Hawaiian language and why it's essential to our schools. The Hawaiian language is very essential uh is a very essential aspect of our culture. Um, a Hawaiian language instructor at HCC said, "The Hawaiian language is linked to the care of our lands, waters, and cultural resources. It is vital to peaceuilding and the reconciliation process of the Hawaiian culture. Since the amendments to the state um constitution, the DOE has included many aspects of the Hawaiian culture into the education system. Um, it is vital to the preservation of our culture to support every aspect of the Hawaiian language at schools, especially for those who are entering kindergarten. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. Thank you, Kristen. Is there anyone else here who wishes to testify on this measure? If not, members questions. Yeah, I guess superintendent the superintendent, the concern I've raised about these assessments seem to be echoing through some of the testimony that we're hearing about that the uh kindergarten teachers are more than equipped to be able to assess the students and that the money should be spent um in other ways to benefit the student.
uh and that this test that comes from John Hopkins isn't necessarily going to be able to relate to what's happening with our students here and I think we brought this up in the concerns and I don't know that you guys are continuing to proceed in this manner but of course if there's concerns about our Hawaiian children it certainly is same thing for all the other children in the system um so how are you folks dealing with this? Thank you very much for the question Senator Kakim. Um the the as as what I understand is that um um as we move forward with the ka pony assessment uh we will be engaging with Hawaii ka pony educators as well as the ka pony community in designing the assessment. Uh I also have uh see Deputy Armstrong um and uh O director uh Kawi Shang here or also Kioima assistant superintendent.
Hi, good afternoon. Heidi Armstrong and um if I can just rephrase your question, you're asking why do we need this assessment? The overall I know we passed we the legislature passed the assessment. Um and at the time when I supported it, my understanding was and I thought it was going to be developed within the school system and the teachers in the classrooms are the best one to give the assessment. And now we're looking at spending over a million dollars for a one-time assessment. And you know, um, the superintendent just said, "This is to track the progress." I'm not sure how you're even going to track the progress. This is only going to be good for this one period in time. By the time the child is through with that class, that year, that the growth is huge, usually in kindergarten to first grade, and that it's going to be outdated.
And so, the kind of cost that we're spending could be better utilized within the classrooms. and for the students directly. A teacher knows at this level after about a week with each of the students of what their levels are. Now, group is even before they enter kindergarten. So, I'm not sure how you're going to assess them before they even enter kindergarten. How how is that being done? They're interviewing every student before they enter. And and what what this assessment will do will allow us to have a data a source of data letting us know um the status and and how our kids what our kids know what they're able to do, what are their strengths, what are their needs as they enter into kindergarten. And this is valuable in the entire early childhood continuum because we know um we have um birth to three programs.
We have preschool programs and this will allow us to have valid and reliable data um that will point out that will give us information on strengths needs. Um it will allow us to identify where resources may need to go. Um, it will allow us to determine if additional community supports may be necessary in the years prior to the students coming into kindergarten so that when they enter kindergarten they will be um where they need to be um to um address the appropriate kindergarten standards that they'll be facing. So I'm not following. So my child is entering kindergarten and so he's given this assessment when? Within the first 90 days of being in kindergarten. Correct. Okay. So within that first 90 days of being in kindergarten. And then now you're going to go get the resources after you they determine it. They're already he's already in that class.
Now you're going to go out and get resources and have the data. that's going to no the the the the advantage of having a standardized test is it will give us statewide data to make broader decisions. What this information will give the individual teacher are the strength and need areas of the child when he or she enters the classroom. And why can't these teachers from Hawaii who knows our students create the standardized test for our state? Why do we have to go to John Hopkins? They're the best ones in the classrooms. I I'll I'll let um Lauren um take that question. Um my name is Lauren Pedeski. I'm the early childhood specialists at the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design. Um let me rephrase to make sure I understood your question. Why a standardized tool instead of creating one within the state? Correct. Yes. The teachers who are the ones that are working with these students and have many of them in the testimony that I read, some of them worked for 20 years at this level and they're the best ones to be able to assess the students.
The teachers certainly are experts in what they're teaching. Um, anecdotally, many of our teachers are assessing children on kindergarten level content that they're also going to teach. The advantage of the tool in our mind is that it's going to provide us with some information about prerequisite skills that some children may not have yet mastered and are not being uniformly assessed in our school system yet. Consequently, we have children that are experiencing cycles of difficulties that could potentially be identified very early in order to provide timely interventions and prevent difficulties later. Those prerequisite skills, particularly in literacy and language, are very critical. And if we can have a really strong identifier that's uniform across the state, it helps us to be able to potentially identify where we can strengthen our entire school force. I I still see how and I'm not going to beat this too much longer, but how you're going to take this one assessment 90 days when the kid is in kindergarten and that's going to prevent all this stuff from happening because I know already these students are being assessed by the teachers and they pre can tell what some of those problems are.
Now, I don't know how that one-time assessment is going to help across the state. Um and if they can come up with a standardized for across the state and they can utilize it. But then when they go to first grade, second grade, what happens then? Are you going to keep assessing them? They are assessed in their universal screeners in their content areas as well as their social emotional learning. But they're not given a standardized test, right? When they get to first grade, second grade, third grade. Do you mean like a first grade entry assessment? No, I'm I'm saying like this kindergarten assessment, are you assessing them every single year? They continue to be assessed on their mathematics. That's not the question. The question is, are they getting to receive that same kind of statewide John Hopkins assessment so you can track their progress as you stated every year?
I'm not sure I understand what the purpose that would be. The purpose would be how why would we validate this one time assessment when it's not going to be consistent? because the cost of a million dollars every year, how do you justify that? I mean, you know, we only have so much money in the school system and I would like to see that money actually go to help those students that really need the help. But we spend so much time getting data and then it sits there and we do nothing with it. And thank you, Senator, for the question. Um, I I think too if I can take a moment to expand on what what Lauren had shared. Um, as as we assess the students say in the first year of the assessment, we'll get some standardized um authentic data that we can use to for that first year's cohort, right?
To see where they're as they come into kindergarten, perhaps where some of the needs are as they as they're coming in. Uh subsequently in um subsequent years, we'll also be able to gather data on the students who are coming into kindergarten and um using that statewide looking at the data. Um and I I totally understand what you're saying. We we do need to take action on that data, not just collecting data for the sake of collecting data, but look really analyzing what the data is telling us. And from there, um, what trends, perhaps some, um, growth areas that we can share, um, with our early learning partners, as well as, um, how we might take a look at that data moving forward to, um, to provide perhaps professional development um, or other uh, conversations with our kindergarten teachers to help build um, an array of strategies that our our teachers can help our students with.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Senator Favlla. The reason why um I have hard time understanding is because um when I went to school and my daughter went school, the people that did the assessment and observation was their teachers. Never changed when I was there at school um until now. Even now, and then now we're getting these standardized testing for for kindergarten. And then how I know this is because when my daughter went to kindergarten, they know who went to preschool or early education. They had all these data on the kids on whatever um questionnaire that the parents submitted to the school. Did their kid go to preschool, early education or daycare or whatever. So they know how the kid uh interact with other kids. So I just give him one hard time because um you know our our teachers are going to school for early education and part of maybe the early education is to observe and monitor the kids on their what they needs and what they're what their needs or not having needs um going forward.
But um I I feel like what Senator Kim is saying is that we're going to spend this one year probably every year and then we got to monitor them or upkeep them. um for for the progress of um having these children. Shouldn't we be investing in the teachers or the education of the teachers that is going to early education to have a little bit more maybe in their curriculum? You can tell the colleges to to implement some of these things instead of having a benefit of using the teachers that you know not nowadays the teachers do teach what the subject that they're teaching and their uh um grade that they're teaching. Not like when I was going to school my PE teacher is teaching PE but he's an English teacher. Those things um changed. So now we specifying that the teachers are in their proper area of education and teaching whatever subject they're teaching.
But then now we're going say okay and now we're going to have another of them in the first 90 days we're going to have them assessed by this assessment. But I remember when my daughter went to uh second grade within 30 days um the teacher already had assessed my daughter's needs, weaknesses and strengths. So when we had our parent teachers meeting, they would give us an assessment of my daughter's education. What is she weaknesses or what is her strengths and what we can do to help her succeed in moving on? And that was in every grade. That wasn't just kindergarten. That was throughout her whole elementary right through high school. Um because we tried to get her assessed when she was young. um because we thought she had a um learning uh uh problem. But then the teacher realized that she uh she learns different.
So it wasn't so much that she needed special education in the early elementary years, but they had said that she had enough that she just learned it learned differently. Now we never have none of this. We relied on the principles, relied on the teachers and we took the investment of their time implement this with with our children. So now because I'm getting a lot of um almost 90 something to 100 um opposition to this um to this bill because of the mixed feeling with the Hawaiian community and and people saying okay now we're going to assess our kids at this one. So it it it's to me um having one standardized testing um for the um kindergarten kids and stuff like that. I think we should trust in our education system and the teachers and the people that's educating our kids there and not something that's going to cost us a million dollars.
Thank you very much Senator Fabilla for the question. Um the so the uh the assessments that are done by teachers to support students as as um teachers identify for individual students what their needs are and what their strengths are and how to help support them um are are done teacher toteer, right? You know, and and um each teacher uses their individual uh repertoire strategies to help assess students and then help them move forth. What we're uh for this bill, what we're proposing is that um as students enter kindergarten, if we can have a uniform assessment of um both in English and one designed uh for Kauni students um by Kauni educators um and Kauni community members um that will give us across the system uh data and a look of where students students are entering kindergarten not only by individual classes but statewide uniform. Yeah.
So as they enter kindergarten, some of the struggles students may have, some of the common struggles across the system um as well as strengths and it would then enable us in the department um to help support them to identify uh areas of need and provide uh the necessary supports and articulation and have teachers talk and collaborate uh to help identify strategies to help support the students. So it across the system it'll help us I think um get better as well as individually as you shared with individual teachers um helping students within their respective classrooms. What's this? This is the problem that right now the Hawaiian the charter schools are having because they put a lot of effort in their abilities to assess and work with individual kids in their way. And then we're going to have a standardized test. Same thing with Senator Kim. Don't get me wrong, I would wish that we teach Hawaiian in all the schools from kindergarten to high to to college, whatever.
But again, they're now what about the kids that speak Filipino or they have um problems in in speaking English. Um you know what I mean? So you guys don't do standardized. The reason why I say this is because even when I was going to school, we had the kids in my class that had trouble speaking with going to a separate class doing so much part of the day to work on their curriculum. So the schools have the ability, the principles, the teachers and people within the school system, the system have the ability to do this um assessments um with with the kids. Um I I just think it to myself, we're taking it to a level that how we going to standardize everything, which sometimes is good, but sometimes I think um is not good. That's all. Thank you. Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Senator Kuha.