There’s no doubt that cheers erupted in public schools statewide — and at Hawaii’s Department of Education (HIDOE) — when the “nation’s report card” for 2024 was released last week, showing Hawaii’s fourth-graders making substantial progress in both math and reading benchmark scores. Indeed, Hawaii was 1 of just 15 states to achieve a statistically significant increase in fourth-grade math scores, marking a 2 point increase over the isles’ 2022 scores and surpassing the national average by 2 points. Also, more students reached proficiency or advanced levels: a rise of 5 percentage points compared to two years ago.

It’s part of an impressive path to overcoming COVID-era learning losses — and now comes the next-phase difficulty of sustaining that progress, minus hundreds of millions of dollars in federal post-pandemic money. In August 2021, HIDOE was approved for $412.3 million in federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to support the safe reopening of in-person learning while meeting students’ academic, social, emotional and mental health needs.

Due to learning losses from schools being shuttered for public health, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, administered every two years, have seen an unfortunate drop in scores nationwide over the past two cycles. So it’s wholly laudable that Hawaii’s students are bucking the national downturn.

In addition to the fourth-graders’ math improvements, Hawaii scores in the other three tested areas — fourth- and eighth-grade reading and eighth-grade math — remained steady.

What makes the latest achievements particularly notable, too, is that the fourth-grade cohort reflects students whose early education was heavily affected by the pandemic; they were just starting kindergarten when schools abruptly shut in 2020, affecting their formative learning years.

ESSER funds have been used successfully for programs such as targeted literacy, high-dosage tutoring and teacher training. In Hawaii, for instance, tuition-free summer school and learning hubs aimed to boost academic recovery, and funds supported students’ mental and physical health, facilities, more technology and addressed staffing problems exacerbated by the pandemic.

But now comes the precarious “fiscal cliff,” with ESSER’s final funds dispersed last month (about $190 billion nationwide was allotted over several years). Public schools in Hawaii and across the nation must now go forward with much uncertainty, which means a careful assessment and culling to retain the most cost-effective strategies.

Further, all this is occurring as news comes about a possible phaseout of the U.S. Department of Education, under directive of the Trump administration. Whatever happens, HIDOE must prepare now to invest state funds into sustaining the positive NAEP results.

To be sure, a plethora of challenges abound that HIDOE must get a better handle on: from its school-bus debacle, to chronic teacher shortages, to student absenteeism. Unevenness and inequities across the statewide system also factor into students’ achievement. But slowly, at least, the teaching situation seems to be improving with better pay secured in 2023, and schools report headway against absenteeism. It’ll be more essential than ever to stay true and steadfast on the public schools’ core mission: education.

Finally, a crucial milestone to uphold going forward: This is the first time, ever, that Hawaii’s eighth-grade reading scores have met the national benchmark and not lagged behind the U.S. average — a significant long-term improvement noted by the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers NAEP. About 20 years ago in 2003, Hawaii ranked among the Bottom 10 states in reading; today, Hawaii’s fourth-graders rank among the Top 10 in the nation.

In past decades, low educational esteem has made it easy to dismiss, even ridicule, Hawaii’s public schools. But with hard work and resources, the tide looks to be turning — and it must, for the sake of Hawaii’s students and this state’s very future. Beyond merely celebrating today’s academic turning point, it must be parlayed into a long-lasting trajectory of higher achievement and success. It won’t be easy, and it will cost — but it’s imperative.