Native Hawaiian students tend to show greater gains in standardized tests when they attend Hawaiian-focused charter schools rather than standard public schools, according to the preliminary findings of a Kamehameha Schools study.

A presentation on the findings will be one of the highlights of Ku'i Ka Lono, the 2006 Conference on Hawaiian Indigenous Education, Research and Well-Being, which is being held today through Friday at the Hawai'i Convention Center.

Although many of the 27 education laboratories are producing solid — even striking — academic results among their students, advocates of charter schools say they're doing it despite overwhelming disadvantages that boil down to funding and facilities.

Charters are schools supported by tax dollars and governed by the Board of Education, but many aren't provided all that is expected at public schools — buildings, buses, gymnasiums, cafeterias or well-stocked libraries.

But an even larger sore point in the local charter schools community is the contention they receive thousands of dollars less per student than Department of Education schools.