On this Pearl Harbor Day, I think of Hawaii. That state's think tank, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, tells us that the school system there has a lot of work to do:

"Isn’t it rather pathetic that a majority (56 percent) of 8th grade Hawaii students have 'below basic' knowledge of Science? Mathematics and Reading are only slightly better, with more than 40 percent of Hawaii students in the ‘below basic’ knowledge category in those subjects."

The institute note that for the amount of money it spends on a per-pupil basis, Hawaii could send students to some private schools in the islands.

From what I remember, there is only one government-run school system in the entire state. That's a rather odd fact in this age of diversity. How about some diversity of institutions?