The amount of instructional time secondary students in Hawaii receive varies widely depending on where they live, from a little more than four hours to more than five hours per day on average.

Policymakers say that information and more outlined in a new Department of Education report underscore the need for more uniformity in school schedules.

The study also found that none of Hawaii’s high schools and just one middle school — Waiakea Intermediate — meets a 2014 mandate that secondary schools offer at least 51/2 hours of instruction, on average, each day.

State Sen. Jill Tokuda, chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee, said the report makes clear that some schools will have to undergo "pretty drastic changes."

She added that the variability in instructional times should be a "wake-up call" to the department and state Board of Education.

"There really needs to be an acknowledgment that something has got to change," she said. "How can we have that kind of range (in instructional hours) among our high schools?"

Meanwhile, some advocates questioned how the DOE proposed to increase instructional time at campuses with particularly short school days.

The report, which was requested by the state Legislature, did not include an implementation plan, but did note that increasing instructional time at public secondary schools will be difficult given the myriad bell schedules campuses follow, a contract that limits teacher work time and the tough economic climate.

In the report, the DOE estimates that meeting the 2014 minimum could cost as much as $50 million per year, a price tag advocates and Tokuda took issue with since some schools have come close to meeting the mandate, apparently without extra resources.

Joyce Bellino, assistant superintendent for the DOE’s Office of Curriculum, Instruction and Student Support, did not comment on the budget estimate, but said lengthening the school day will be a "challenge."

"The study did show there is quite a lot of variation of instructional time," she said, adding that schools are "tapping into each other" for help on lengthening the school day.

The DOE report found:

» At least 10 secondary schools will have to add more than an hour of instructional time per day. Sixty of 89 secondary schools will have to add more than 30 minutes.

» A handful of high schools are close to meeting the 2014 mandate, including Farrington (which is 18 minutes shy per week) and Castle (29 minutes).

» At the bottom among high schools was Waiakea, with four hours and 11 minutes of instructional time on average per day. To meet the mandate it must add 395 minutes of instructional time per week (or 79 minutes more per day).

» Waiakea Intermediate, the lone secondary school meeting the mandate, offers 1,690 minutes of instructional time per week (or 40 minutes more than the minimum).

» Highlands Intermediate has the shortest instructional day among middle schools, with 1,305 minutes per week. It will have to add 69 minutes per day in instructional time.

Clayton Kaninau, director of the DOE’s curriculum and instruction branch, said the study illustrates the "need to move to uniformity" in school schedules.

He also stressed that though instructional time is important, the emphasis should be on the quality of instruction and on rethinking what constitutes "instructional time."

The report defines instruction as time spent in homeroom and in class, "scheduled activity periods," study hall and student progress reporting.

Legislators have asked the department to consider other potential instructional time additions, such as time spent in mentorships, taking online classes or extracurricular activities.

The report does not discuss those issues, however, which Tokuda called a "missed opportunity."

"I don’t really think they went that deep," she said.

The report comes as the state Department of Education is under pressure to meet big pledges included as part of its $75 million federal Race to the Top grant, aimed at boosting student achievement, and advocates worry instructional time could take a back seat this legislative session.

"There’s a lot of questions," said Kathy Bryant, an advocate for lengthening the school day, who added that the instructional time study includes a lot of data but doesn’t spell out how the department intends to lengthen the school day.

"I guess what I’d be looking for in the report is how we’re going to address that deficiency quickly," she said. "I didn’t see (it)."

Lawmakers required the DOE to conduct the study last session, after agreeing to delay instructional-time minimums for schools that were to go into effect this school year.

Under the new law, half of the state’s elementary schools had to offer at least five hours and five minutes of instructional time on average each day this school year.

The DOE met that goal, with 72 percent of schools meeting the minimum.

By the coming school year, all elementary schools must offer at least five hours and five minutes of instructional time per day; by 2014, middle and high schools, at least 51/2 hours on average each day. Public charter and multitrack schools are exempted from the law, which also calls for all schools to have at least 180 instructional days per school year.

Melanie Bailey, a parent who helped push for the instructional-time minimums, said she was disappointed the instructional time study didn’t discuss ways to increase class time.

"I’m not really seeing the action here," she said.