More than 1,500 Richmond County schoolchildren face another hurdle before they are promoted to the next grade: an appeal.

According to records released by the school system Friday, at least that many failed one or two of the tests needed to advance during the summer school session.

Georgia pupils must pass certain portions of the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests, state-mandated standardized testing, to be automatically promoted to the next grade. Third-graders must pass reading; fifth- and eighth-graders must pass reading and math.

Though Superintendent Dana Bedden hastily called a news conference Friday afternoon questioning the 1,500-pupil figure published online by The Augusta Chronicle earlier in the day, he later called the newspaper to say the number is accurate.

Numbers for Columbia County will be released Tuesday.

The new state math curriculum continued to trip pupils up in Richmond County. In eighth-grade alone, 65 percent of those who took the math test again -- or 782 pupils -- didn't pass.

"Our students are now experiencing a math curriculum that introduces them to algebra, geometry and a number of other math concepts as early as sixth grade all the way through eighth grade," Dr. Bedden said, but he commended the state's decision to increase the rigor by introducing the higher-order thinking skills. "When you look at where we are faring on the international market, we have to do something different. I believe that our students will rise to the occasion. I believe that our teachers will rise to the occasion."

Parents can appeal to have their child promoted. An appeal can be granted with the approval of the parent, teacher and principal. Parents must write a brief letter stating the desire to appeal and submit it to the school by Aug. 11.

Parents wanting additional help to bring their child up to grade level should call their child's school after Aug. 5 to set up a meeting.

Dana Tofig, a spokesman for the Georgia Department of Education, said statewide retest results haven't come in yet.

He said a "vast majority" of appeals statewide have been successful in past years.

"The appeals process is to determine if the results of the test and the retest are an anomaly or if the results of the test and retest are a reflection the student doesn't get the (content)," Mr. Tofig said.

Still, many pupils have successfully appealed and found themselves unprepared for high school, he said. That's why the department established academic support classes to assist students in catching up.

"Retaining a student is a huge decision," Mr. Tofig said.

The benefit of holding a pupil back for weakness in one subject area must be weighed against the harm of having the child repeat classes already passed, he said.