Carbon Career & Technical Institute's Keystone Exam scores are on the rise.

The percentage of 11th-grade students who scored advanced or proficient increased on the algebra I, literature and biology tests.Juniors are required to take the end-of-course exams in those three subjects."We're extremely proud of our students," said Dave Reinbold, CCTI administrative director. "Our goal going for the 2014-15 school year was a 5-10 percentage point increase in all three areas, and we clearly met that goal."The breakdown included an increase from 65.6 percent of students scoring advanced or proficient on the algebra I exam, up from 47.7 percent the year before; 66.3 percent of students scoring advanced or proficient on the literature exam up from 59.3 percent the year before; and 64.3 percent of students scoring proficient on the biology exam, up from 52 percent the year before.Students at the school attribute their success on the tests to preparation."Our teachers didn't skimp on anything," said Emily Clements, a senior enrolled in CCTI's carpentry program. "We were taught everything 10 times over. Maybe it was a little bit overboard, but it worked. Some people need a little more kick in the pants."Clements credited English teacher Mike Wildoner with regularly giving students practice sheets and making sure they had a good grasp of what would be on the Keystones.Often times a stigma is associated with attending a career and technical school such as CCTI. Junior Nichita Golcova, who scored advanced on the biology exam, said the impression he got from talking to other people is that CCTI "wasn't as good as attending high school from a sending district.""I found that is absolutely not true," said Golcova, who has only been in the United States and spoken English for four years. "The academics here are not below or under any high school. Everyone has confidence. We are pushed to succeed. Anna Conway, my biology teacher, really inspired me to do well on the Keystones and made sure we knew what we needed to know."Many public school officials have spent time speaking out about what they feel is wrong with the Keystone exams. Principal Brent Borzak said CCTI has accepted the tests for what they are and continually adapts curriculum and preparation to give students the best chance to succeed."There is no point in talking negative about the tests," Borzak said. "We don't control whether they stay or go or change. We've always tried to stay ahead of the curve."The state Senate voted in June to delay by two years the requirement that high school students pass the Keystone exams to graduate.If the governor signs the bill, which still needs a vote in the House, the requirement would go into effect in 2018-19."It didn't mean any less to us because it's not a graduation requirement for us," said senior Miranda Green, who is in the auto mechanics program. "We take pride in the academics at this school and there isn't a teacher here who doesn't want us to pass."The Keystone prep class in Green's junior year was a catalyst for her Keystone success. She scored advanced in biology.Senior Josh Rehrig had knee surgery, but said the staff went above and beyond to make sure he didn't miss a beat."I got tutoring once a week for about a month and that really helped," Rehrig said. "I honestly thought the Keystones would be harder. This school really focuses on preparing us."Over the past few years, CCTI has increased enrollment and started Advanced Placement calculus and English courses, and field biology and drafting classes. Student attendance is also headed in a positive direction."There was a time when 25 percent of our students regularly missed 20 or more days," Reinbold said. "That percentage is now down to 5 and sometimes lower."Keystone exam success has helped open other doors at CCTI. In 2013-14, its School Performance Profile score was the highest among career and technical schools in the state."I think it's important to note we've been achieving all of these goals while maintaining our fiscal responsibility to the taxpayers," Reinbold said. "Our past two overall budget increases to our five sending schools has been zero."