By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM – Potsdam Central students scored well overall on 2015-16 Regents exams but plans are being made to help struggling students pass required courses including the possible additions of a math teacher and home-based summer school.

Common Core curriculum was phased in more slowly in the upper grades than for elementary grades, which has led to less of a dip in test scores, Potsdam Central Superintendent Joanna Chambers said.

Students are required to pass five Regents exams in order to receive a high school diploma. It is rare for a PCS student to fail to graduate because of the inability to pass a Regents exam -- only one student has not passed since 2008. Three advanced level Regents classes are also offered at PCS.

When a student fails, they attend summer school, retake Regents exams in August, are placed in an Academic Intervention Services (AIS) class, repeat the failed course, or change tracks if necessary.

Now, the school will look to help students by having National Honor Society members tutor, use Castle Learning in the Student Learning Center, and closely monitor student attendance and grades.

“The Board of Education is always looking at staffing and class offerings that will benefit students,” Chambers said. “We know that math was understaffed.”

Chambers said previous class sizes had been smaller and that class sizes are getting larger again recently, causing the board to look at the need for more staffing.

A new math teacher, which would be hired for the 2017-18 school year, would teach Basic Geometry and Financial Math. The person could also teach any classes that may have overflow students and AIS if necessary. By doing this, the school could offer more of a variety of math classes for students that may struggle.

Preliminary talks are underway to offer summer school for high school students at Potsdam Central. Students must now travel to Massena Central if they are required or desire to take summer school.

“Some students are reluctant because of the length of the day,” she said. “Often kids have summer jobs.”

Chambers said the school would need to look at the financial aspect as well as see if there was interest from teachers to participate.

School officials will also hold meetings to discuss at-risk students and to discuss instructional programs.

Test Results

A total of 98 percent of the 87 students who took the Algebra I Common Core class passed. Nearly 70 percent of them scored an 80 or higher. The number of students scoring an 85 or higher on the test has tripled from last year, 38 percent versus 12 percent.

Geometry Common Core tests saw a 74 percent passing rate. This was an improvement from about 60 percent of students passing the previous year.

Of the 32 students who took the Common Core Algebra II class, 72 percent passed this year, and 81 percent of students passed the Algebra II/Trigonometry Regents test.

The number of students who failed Algebra II courses has been higher in the past two years than in 2012-14. About 20 percent of students failed in 2015-16 compared to about 4-12 percent of students in 2012-14.

Global History and Geography testing saw an 86 percent pass rate which was fairly consistent with the previous five years. U.S. History and Government Regents tests saw 93 percent of students pass which was also on par with previous years.

Students passed at an 88 percent rate for Common Core English. Results have gone up and down since 2012 on English tests.

Earth Science Regents test results showed 84 percent of students pass. This is down slightly from nearly 89 percent passing in 2015.

Living Environment Regents students passed at a 93 percent rate. This is an improvement from the previous two years.

Ninety-four percent of Chemistry Regents students passed the test. Those numbers are better than the approximately 82 percent who passed last year.

In Physics 87 percent of students passed compared to just over 90 percent last year.