Just in time for the new school year, the Scotia-Glenville Central School District met Monday, Aug. 27, to review Regents exam results, failure reports, advanced placement results and graduation reports.
District Director of Curriculum and Instruction Joe Kavanaugh said that all of the Regents exam results have shown improvement, with the exception of the physics exam.
We had a lot of good news, with a lot of high passing rates. Physics is one area we are looking at, but part of that is that typically physics has a low number of students enrolled in the course, said Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh said the district’s GOAL program, formed a few years ago in an effort to reach out to students who need extra guidance, was successful this year. In ninth grade, only three out of 18 GOAL students failed the English Regents. Tenth- grade GOAL students had high passing rates, with only two of 12 failing the English Regents. Math and science continue to be areas that administrators and staff are concerned about.
`We try to reach kids who seem disaffected by school. We tend to see ninth graders drop in math and science, and then they do seem to just ‘get it’ more in 10th grade. Science is one area we still need to firm up,` said Kavanaugh.
The GED report for 2006-2007 showed 20 students enrolled with 13 passing, one failing, two removed, two leaving before completion, and two returning for the 2007-2008 program. High School Principal Lynda J. Castronovo said those numbers are important because a few years ago the dropout rate was close to 4 percent.
`Our total population is at 997, and the dropout rate is now at 2 percent. That is a number we would of course always like to see at 0 percent but for now 2 is acceptable. We try to reach who we can,` said Castronovo.
Advanced placement, or AP, courses, seem to be a hot topic for the district.
Castronovo said many times students sign up for AP courses, and while in the process of applying to colleges may learn the course will not be accepted for college credit. She said while the main reason students are drawn to these courses is to receive early college credit, she believes students also need to view the courses as a method of preparing for college-level work. She said many times, once students realizes they will not receive credit, their interest wanes and many times they refuse to take the AP exam at the end of the course. Castronovo and Kavanugh said despite the money and time involved in taking the exam, they are adamant that it is a vital part of the process.
`Every year we fight with students and parents about taking this exam if the credits aren’t being accepted by the student’s future college. Parents don’t want to pay the fee. At the start of the course, we make it very clear that AP classes end with the AP exam. It is what the learning process is about. It’s foolish to take a college level course, work hard all year, and then not be properly assessed by the exam,` said Castronovo.
Castronovo said while she knows many of the neighboring districts do not feel as strongly, she said this something she is not going to waver on.
`It is about commitment. It is about these students testing themselves to see if they are ready for the work that lies ahead in college. It’s important,` she said.
A post 2007 graduate survey indicates that out of 217 graduates, 186 plan to further their education. Close to 55 percent plan to attend a four-year school and almost 45 percent plan to attend a two-year college.
`Overall, we are really happy with the numbers,` said Castronovo.“