HONOLULU (AP) — After struggling to increase the number of Hawaii teachers who are considered highly qualified, there are now more of them in classrooms statewide. 

New figures show that 85 percent of Hawaii secondary school classes are taught by highly qualified teachers. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday that's up 20 percentage points from five years ago but still falls short of the state's goal of having them in every classroom. 

Hawaii ranked second from the bottom nationwide for the percentage of core classes taught by highly qualified teachers in 2010-11. 

State Department of Education officials say it's difficult to attract highly qualified candidates to work in Hawaii. 

The state has worked with existing teachers to get them certified and revamped hiring procedures to increase the number of highly qualified teachers.