<P> Public elementary, middle and high school test scores in Hawaii are below national averages on tests mandated under the No Child Left Behind Act . The Hawaii Board of Education requires all eligible students to take these tests and report all student test scores . This may have unbalanced the results that reported in August 2005 that of 282 schools across the state, 185 failed to reach federal minimum performance standards in mathematics and reading . The ACT college placement tests show that in 2005, seniors scored slightly above the national average (21.9 compared with 20.9), but in the widely accepted SAT examinations, Hawaii's college - bound seniors tend to score below the national average in all categories except mathematics . </P> <P> Hawaii has the highest rates of private school attendance in the nation . During the 2011--2012 school year, Hawaii public and charter schools had an enrollment of 181,213, while private schools had 37,695 . Private schools educated over 17% of students in Hawaii that school year, nearly three times the approximate national average of 6% . It has four of the largest independent schools; ʻIolani School, Kamehameha Schools, Mid-Pacific Institute and Punahou School . Pacific Buddhist Academy, the second Buddhist high school in the U.S. and first such school in Hawaii, was founded in 2003 . The first native controlled public charter school was the Kanu O Ka Aina New Century Charter School . </P> <P> Independent and charter schools can select their students, while the public schools are open to all students in their district . The Kamehameha Schools are the only schools in the U.S. that openly grant admission to students based on ancestry; collectively, they are one of the wealthiest schools in the United States, if not the world, having over eleven billion US dollars in estate assets . In 2005, Kamehameha enrolled 5,398 students, 8.4% of the Native Hawaiian children in the state . </P> <P> Graduates of secondary schools in Hawaii often enter directly into the workforce . Some attend colleges and universities on the mainland or other countries, and the rest attend an institution of higher learning in Hawaii . The largest is the University of Hawaii System, which consists of: the research university at Mānoa, two comprehensive campuses at Hilo and West Oʻahu, and seven community colleges . Private universities include Brigham Young University--Hawaii, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii Pacific University, and Wayland Baptist University . Saint Stephen Diocesan Center is a seminary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu . Kona hosts the University of the Nations, which is not an accredited university . </P>

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