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Public schools saw progress this year in their efforts to boost achievement among the lowest-performing students. At the same time, the percentage of students exceeding in math proficiency declined, school-by-school annual test scores released this week show.

Statewide, the percentage of students who were "well below" in reading dropped significantly, to 11 percent in the school year that ended in May from 18 percent in 2010. Students "well below" in math declined by 9 percentage points, to 18 percent this year.

There was also a big increase in the percentage of students exceeding standards in reading, with 29 percent of students testing above grade-level benchmarks, compared with 23 percent last year. In math, however, the group of top scorers got much smaller. About 14 percent of students exceeded standards, compared with 23 percent last year.

Principals say the big drop in the percentage of kids performing at the lowest levels appears to be early proof that new interventions for struggling students are paying off.

"We’re developing an almost individualized plan for each child," said Kalihi-uka Elementary Principal Laura Ahn. "Our teachers really targeted certain kids, targeted the ‘well below’ and the ‘almost reaching’ to get them to improve."

Just 4 percent of third-graders at the school tested "well below" in reading this year, down from 22 percent last year. The school also saw large declines in the percentage of students "well below" in fourth- and fifth-grade reading, and for all grades in math. The percentage of fifth-graders at Kalihi-uka who tested "well below" in math dropped a staggering 26 percentage points, from 41 percent this year to 15 percent in 2010.

At Fern Elementary, struggling students got extra assistance from part-time teachers placed in each classroom to supplement learning. Principal Tiare Ulii said students at the school have a host of barriers — 82 percent are disadvantaged and half are English-language learners — so they sometimes need a little more help to grasp a concept.

"Whatever they don’t get, we tutor them," she said.

Thanks to that work, Fern Elementary also saw significant drops in the percentage of students "well below" proficiency. The percentage of fifth-graders "well below" in reading was cut in half this year, to 19 percent, while fifth-graders "well below" in math dropped from 40 percent to 14 percent. The percentage of third-graders "well below" in math increased slightly, however, and the school also saw fewer kids exceeding in math.

Farrington High saw its percentage of students "well below" in reading drop to 20 percent, from 27 percent last year. In math, 32 percent of students at the school were "well below" standards, from 45 percent. Overall at the school, 55 percent of 10th-graders met reading benchmarks (down from last year) and 43 percent met math standards.

"Helping the ‘well below’ kids, it’s really been a huge effort," said Al Carganilla, Farrington’s principal, adding that this year the school is also kicking off a "learning team" model, where teachers share information about what’s working or not working in their classrooms, based on real-time data. "A lot of the effort going forward is identifying our population gaps and really working hard in addressing those gap areas."

The assessment figures released this week show the percentage of students at each campus in one of four categories: well below, approaches, meets or exceeds proficiency.

Overall this year, 67 percent of public school students met or exceeded benchmarks for reading, while 54 percent hit proficiency standards for math. Last year, 68 percent of students tested proficient in reading; and 49 percent met math standards.

A total of 96,551 public school students in third through eighth grades and the 10th grade took the high-stakes Hawaii State Assessment. For the first time, in the school year that just ended, students could take the test online and up to three times between October and May.

How a school fares on the test determines whether it meets adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law. For a school to meet adequate yearly progress this year, 72 percent of its students had to have tested proficient in reading and 64 percent proficient in math.

Under NCLB, schools that do not achieve adequate yearly progress are subject to varying sanctions.

The scores released this week are for all students and are not those used in NCLB determinations, because those counts don’t include kids not at school for the whole year.

The figures show the percentage of students "well below" in reading declined for all grades. Tenth-graders had the highest percentage of students in that category overall, with 14 percent "well below" in reading, from 21 percent in 2010. In math, nearly one third of 10th-graders were "well below," down 5 percentage points from the previous year.

Third-graders had the smallest percentage of students testing "well below."

And though the overall percentage of students in the "exceeds" category dropped this year, most grade levels saw increases in the number of students topping standards. Tenth-graders saw the greatest decline in students exceeding in reading, from 33 percent to 13 percent. In, math 8 percent of 10th-graders topped standards, from 14 percent in 2010.

Among all regular public schools, Laupahoehoe High and Elementary had the greatest percentage of students in any one grade who tested "well below" benchmarks in reading, with 54 percent of seventh-graders in the category. Laupahoehoe also saw 57 percent of eighth-graders testing "well below" in math. Twenty-nine percent met the standards.

Momilani Elementary had the highest percentage of students in any grade in the "exceeds" category for reading, with 79 percent of fourth grades performing better than benchmarks.

Enchanted Lake Elementary takes top honors in math, with 58 percent of third-graders exceeding standards and 39 percent meeting proficiency.