Despite the dissatisfaction many public educators have expressed over the Keystone Exams, it looks like they won't be going away anytime soon.

Acknowledging that, Lehighton Area School District passed two motions last week to both prepare students for future tests and help those who have struggled in the past.Lehighton will offer Keystone and Pennsylvania State Assessment after school tutoring on Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the high school. Sessions will begin in September.Keystone Exams are end of course tests used to determine how well a student understands the content. Students take the tests at the end of their courses in the fall or spring. They must attain a score of advanced or proficient in the required areas tested by the state including biology, literature and algebra I by the end of their junior year.The state Senate voted in June to delay the requirement that high school students pass the Keystone Exams to graduate by two years.If the governor signs the bill, which still needs a vote in the House, the requirement would go into effect in 2018-19.Many districts have passed resolutions asking the state to completely abolish the requirement for graduation."Everything we have heard is that the exams are here to stay," Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said. "We are continuing to move forward and do all we can to make sure our students are successful. I know there is a lot of discussion, but we're taking the approach that they will be around."Students who attain a score of basic or below basic in the required areas will receive supplemental instruction before retesting. Students will continue to retest until they become proficient, or are required to start a project-based assessment as seniors.At Lehighton, Keystone credit remediation for seniors not advanced or proficient on the Keystone exams will be offered in November.The board also approved SAT prep classes last week for English and math. Both of those classes will be held at the high school and free of charge to students.Dates have not been announced.The classes familiarize students with the format of the test and provide strategies and practice for questions on critical reading, sentence completion, grammar, usage, and writing (English); and numbers and operations, algebra, geometry and measurement, and data analysis and statistics (math)."We're really trying to encourage students to take the classes," Cleaver said. "I think if you talk to those students who have taken the prep courses in the past, they will tell you how much value they provide. With the cost of taking the test, it's beneficial to only have to take it once and these classes help students do that. It's never too soon to take a prep course."