The intense political pressure surrounding school reform in Hawai'i provokes over-the-top reactions whenever any bit of news comes out.

The release of annual student test scores had them wanting to dance on the table at the Board of Education over improvements in key areas.

Detractors, meantime, were dismayed that only one-third of public schools met federal standards for student achievement in reading and math — the worst showing since testing began in 2002.

When we cut through the spin, the take away message is that our schools are definitely improving, but have a long way to go to achieve adequacy — much less excellence.

What had the Board of Education excited was the encouraging number of schools that improved their reading and math scores from last year.

But only 94 of 279 public schools made adequate progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law, partly because of higher targets on the percentage of students who had to meet minimum standards.

So where we stand now is that in only one-third of our schools are at least 44 percent of students proficient in reading and 28 percent proficient in math.

We expect more from the enormous public resources we pour into the schools. In the real world, only baseball batters can get away with being unsuccessful two-thirds of the time and proclaiming themselves heroic.

Many in the Department of Education and the Legislature whine about No Child Left Behind — that it puts too much emphasis on testing, is inflexible and sets unfair standards and unrealistic goals.

But flawed or not, in Hawai'i the federal law is directly responsible for whatever improvements we've seen in student achievement.

Its stringent testing requirements imposed on the DOE what the system always refused to impose on itself — accountability for results.

None of the excuses satisfactorily explain why public schools that have our kids seven hours a day, nine months a year for 13 years can't teach them core competence in reading and math.

To her credit, DOE Superintendent Pat Hamamoto has seldom been among the whiners and has kept the focus on results.

She's entitled to take satisfaction from the areas of gain in this year's testing.

Innovative teaching programs at some schools have been remarkably successful, and the best will spread to improve achievement systemwide.

It's significant that the biggest improvements came from the lower grades, where students have been in the new testing environment for most of their school careers.

Since testing began in 2002, Grade 3 students achieving proficiency have jumped from 43 percent to 52 percent in reading and 21 percent to 29 percent in math.

In Grade 5, the percentage of students meeting standards increased from 42 percent to 56 percent in reading and 21 percent to 26 percent in math.

It's not surprising to see scores in Grades 8 and 10, where students are playing catch-up, remaining flat at about 40 percent in reading and 20 percent in math.

When the current generation of elementary students reaches the middle and high schools with greater skills, scores will naturally improve in the higher grades.

An increased emphasis on early childhood education — especially in less affluent areas — also feeds positively into this dynamic.

And if the Act 51 education reforms passed by legislators last year will bring any benefits, they should start being seen in 2006.

It's hardly time to start dancing on the tables, but it sure is good to see Hawai'i test scores finally going up instead of down.

Hamamoto and the DOE have earned our patience and a reduction in the tension as they strive for the next level.

David Shapiro, a veteran Hawai'i journalist, can be reached by e-mail at dave@volcanicash.net.