It’s intriguing that Hawai'i is considering applying for a new more flexible pilot program for gauging progress under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act.

It’s intriguing because Hawai'i, with its single statewide school system, is a test case for many of the best and worst aspects of the law.

A study by Education Week finds that Hawai'i has the highest percentage of schools missing the target of "adequate yearly progress" as demanded by the law.

It also has the highest percentage of schools under some degree of corrective action called for in the No Child law.

That may be considered the bad news.

The good news is that the large number of schools failing to hit progress targets is due in large part to the fact that Hawai'i has set relatively lofty standards. School districts with more modest goals find it understandably easier to reach them.

Hawai'i is also high on the list of failing to hit progress goals because it started the process a year or more earlier than most districts. That means schools are further down the road where the goals are higher and obviously tougher to reach.

On this front, Hawai'i is in the company of other high-standards, early-starter states.

The other good news is that much of the corrective action is far from punitive; instead, it focuses on such things as extra tutoring for students and extra, outside assistance and training for teachers and administrators.

The pilot program Hawai'i may apply for is called a "growth model," which focuses on actual year-to-year progress by individual students rather than overall test performance by the school.

This is a more complicated and expensive method of measuring progress, but it is far more sophisticated and adaptable to systems such as Hawai'i with high standards and a diversity of educational challenges.

The state should pursue participation in the pilot program and ask Washington to come up with the extra money it will take to make it work. If it does, all school systems will benefit.