LI students with Regents diplomas rises

The percentage of Long Island public school students earning advanced or basic Regents diplomas continues to edge up despite tighter school budgets that have resulted in widespread teacher layoffs and larger class sizes over the past several years.

Among the Island's graduates in the Class of 2011, 54.2 percent obtained Regents diplomas with advanced designation, up from 54.1 percent in spring 2010, according to school report cards released Thursday by the state Department of Education.

Such diplomas indicate that students have completed advanced classes considered essential for full college readiness, including courses in algebra, geometry and trigonometry.

However, thousands of the Island's teens who plan to enter college continue to earn basic Regents diplomas that require no math studies beyond the difficulty level of first-year algebra. In the state's latest survey, 90 percent of graduating seniors indicated their intent to enroll in either a two- or four-year college.

The percentages of students completing advanced coursework underscore a continuing major weakness, analysts said -- the divide between rich and poor districts, both on the Island and across the state.

More than 80 percent of graduates earned advanced Regents diplomas in the North Shore districts of Jericho, Great Neck and Cold Spring Harbor, while only 11 percent of their counterparts in Wyandanch and 4 percent in Roosevelt obtained such credentials.

"What these results show is really the dramatic differences between kids from high-income homes and low-income homes, and that's the great gap in New York State," said Martin Cantor of Melville, a private consultant who has advised both county and state officials on economic and educational issues.

The Education Department issued the annual report cards, with comprehensive student-achievement data for the 2010-11 school year, without comment and on a day when most school districts were preparing to close for spring break.

The lack of fanfare accompanying such releases in recent years is in marked contrast to the highly publicized news conferences of a decade ago, when recipients of Regents diplomas were far fewer and the state was pushing for higher numbers.

The latest figures show that 92.5 percent of the Island's graduates earned either advanced or basic Regents diplomas last spring, up from 91.3 percent in spring 2010. The state average last spring was 86 percent, compared with 83 percent the previous spring.

Even with tighter budgets, many local districts still managed to provide special help to students struggling with coursework in challenging courses such as trigonometry. Typically, that support comes in the form of extra class periods -- often referred to as labs or workshops -- that are provided to students every other day.

Richard Nathan, superintendent of Lindenhurst schools, noted that the Island's districts have tended to maintain academic programs, including advanced courses, even if forced to cut more peripheral services.

"We have to answer to our communities, and they have high expectations," said Nathan, an educator with 44 years' experience.

In Lindenhurst, the percentage of graduates earning advanced Regents diplomas rose to 54 percent last spring, from 48 percent a year before.

Kristy Koutsouras, a Westhampton Beach teacher, runs workshop classes in trigonometry at that district's high school. Such classes generally are limited to 12 students, many of whom attend regular trig classes taught by other teachers. Koutsouras said she especially enjoys the chance to compare notes with those colleagues during daily planning periods, rather than simply teaching her own classes in isolation.

Westhampton Beach's superintendent, Michael Radday, praised teachers for the extra time many have spent prepping teens for challenging exams.

"What it comes down to is our belief that all kids can succeed if we provide the extra support," he said.