The number of high school students failing algebra and geometry at Lebanon High School dropped slightly fall trimester.

Former Superintendent Jim Robinson declared an academic emergency at the high school in September, in part because of the low number of students passing state math assessment tests and the news that 67 percent of students taking Algebra I spring trimester had received a "D" or "F" grade.

Administrators began an intensive program to help more students pass math.

LHS principal Mark Finch presented the results of fall trimester to the Lebanon School Board Monday night.

Fourteen percent of students taking Algebra I earned an "A," a six-point jump from the spring.

The number of "Bs" increased by two points and "C" grades remained nearly the same, 18 percent compared to 17 percent in the spring.

"D" grades fell from 19 percent to 15. Thirty-nine percent of Algebra I students received an "F" fall trimester, compared to 44 percent in the spring.

Finch said the school was working on short-, intermediate- and long-term goals to improve math grades. By 2012, the number of 10th -graders passing the state math assessment will exceed the state average, Finch predicted.

Steps taken to help students struggling with math included establishing a "war room" to track nearly 300 students receiving a "D" or below. A before- and after-school tutoring program staffed by community volunteers was established in the fall.

Teaching coaches continue to monitor teachers in the classroom to offer suggestions on improving curriculum and instructional practices. The district is contracting with the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory in Portland for additional teacher training, Finch said.

While acknowledging the improvements, school board members remained unsatisfied that enough was being done to help seniors who are in danger of not graduating this spring for lack of required math credits.

"Discipline in the classrooms is atrocious," board member Rick Alexander said. "We need someplace we can put disruptive students to get them out of the classroom."

Noting parents' complaints that they were still not being notified when their students were failing, Debi Shimmin said she wanted more effort put into making sure parents are aware how their children are doing in the classroom.

"I think we can do better," Shimmin said.