Regents Examinations
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Regents Examinations, or simply Regents, are a set of standardized tests given to high school students through the New York State Education Department, designed and administered under the authority of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York. Regents exams are prepared by a conference of selected New York teachers of each test's specific discipline. The conferences meet and design the tests three years before the tests' issuance. The exams themselves are administered according to strict and specific instructions: printed on the cover of each exam booklet is the date and time when the examination is to begin, and the proctor is required to follow specific regulations for administering the test (e.g., regulations for students leaving the room during the tests, the possession of cellphones by students during a test, the handling of the test papers, etc.). Proctors are required to sign an oath stating that they have followed the regulations, and students sign an oath that they have received no assistance or otherwise cheated.
In order to graduate with a "Regents' diploma," students are required to have earned appropriate credits in a number of specific subjects by passing year-long or half-year courses. In addition to passing the courses themselves (based on an individual teacher's or school's own tests and classwork) students are also required to earn a score of 65 points or more, on the Regents' examinations required for that level of diploma (see below).
Contents |
[edit] Current Regents Exam List
[edit] List of Exams
The following New York State Regents Exams are administered:
- Mathematics (see note below)
- Old curriculum - now ending
- Math A - roughly corresponding to Algebra I
- Math B
- New curriculum - now phasing in
- Integrated Algebra I
- Integrated Geometry
- Integrated Algebra II and Trigonometry
- Old curriculum - now ending
- Science
- Living Environment
- Earth Science/The Physical Setting
- Chemistry/The Physical Setting
- Physics/The Physical Setting - only offered in January and June
- Languages other than English, only offered every June
- Spanish (Offered every January and June)
- French
- Latin
- German
- Italian
- Modern Hebrew
- Social Studies
- Global History and Geography
- US History and Government
- English Language Arts
- Comprehensive English
Note: In 2005, the Board of Regents began modifying the Mathematics curriculum. An integrated approach that taught topics in geometry and algebra during each of three years, with exams normally taken after a year and a half and again after three years, is being replaced by curriculum that divides topics into Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II, each of these being a one-year course with a regents' examination at the end of each year. Accordingly the "Math A" and "Math B" exams are being eliminated and replaced by "Integrated Algebra", "Integrated Geometry", and "Integrated Algebra II and Trigonometry".
[edit] Regular Regents Diploma
| Subject | Regents Credits | Required Exam(s) | Grade in which exams are usually taken (may vary, particularly in accelerated programs; most are normally taken in June, unless otherwise noted) |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | English Language Arts | Grade 11 |
| Social Studies | 4 |
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| Mathematics | 3 | Math A |
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| Science | 3 | Living Environment | Grade 9 or upon completion of coursework |
| Foreign Language | 1 | ||
| Art, Music (combined) | 1 | ||
| Health | 1/2 | ||
| Physical Education | 2 | ||
| Electives | 1 1/2 |
[edit] Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation
| Subject | Regents credits | Required Exam(s) | Grade in which exams are most often taken, usually in June unless otherwise noted |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 4 | English Language Arts | Grade 11 |
| Social Studies | 4 |
|
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| Mathematics | 3 |
|
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| Science | 3 |
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Grade in which they take the course. (i.e. Living Environment Grade 9; Earth Science, Grade 10; Chemistry Grade 10 or Grade 11; Physics Grade 11 in most cases) |
| Foreign Language | 3 | Comprehensive Foreign Language of the student's choice. | usually Grade 11, or after equivalent of three years of study |
| Art & Music (combined) | 1 | ||
| Health | 1/2 | ||
| Physical Education | 2 | ||
| Electives | 1 1/2 |
[edit] Required Exams
Students in New York State must pass five Regents Exams (Math A, Global History and Geography, U.S. History and Government, Comprehensive English,and Living Environment exams) with a score of 65 or better in order to receive a Regents diploma. If a student scores 85 or better on a Regents examination, they are judged to have achieved mastery level. If a student has an average of 90 or higher on all regents exams taken, a Regents diploma with distinction is awarded.
By passing the additional exams (Math B, a second science and a foreign language), students earn a Regents Diploma with advanced designation, which may also be awarded with distinction if all exams are passed with a grade of 90 or better.
Some students choose to take additional Regents exams -- for instance, an additional science or two, or an additional foreign language. Such exams will be noted on a high school transcript, and may of course be taken into account by colleges and universities in evaluating a student for admission, but they are not formally recognized on the diploma.
Students who pass only the minimally required exams, and only with a grade of 55 or better, do not receive a Regents diploma, but what is designated a local diploma. Such diplomas are slated to be phased out -- in fact, the Board of Regents has already announced that they will no longer be awarded, in order to require that all students meet a higher level of academic achievement, but the date for the phase out has been pushed back a number of times so as of June 2006 it is still unclear when awarding of the local diploma will actually end.
[edit] Formats
Most Regents examinations are offered every January, June, and August - as noted above, most are normally scheduled to be taken in June, some students take them earlier in january, others have an extra opportunity to take them after summer school in August or the following January to make up for failures when initially taking an exam.
All Regents exams are three hours long except the Comprehensive English exam, which consists of two separate three-hour exam periods over two consecutive days. Several of the foreign language Regents have oral exams which are administered before the written test and are not part of the three hour time limit.
Most Regents exams are structured in a two-part format: A multiple-choice section (Part I), which is usually between 30-50 questions, and a long-answer/essay section (Part II), which consists of either a selection of detailed questions for which the work must be shown (for math and physical sciences), or a set of essay topics, of which one or two must be written about in detail (for the social sciences). Foreign language exams include a third section on listening skills (with passages read aloud by a proctor ), and the history exams include a section of short responses (a sentence or two) on primary documents. For both social science exams, two essays are now required and students do not get a choice as to which essay to answer.
[edit] English Language Arts
The English Regents requires four essays, each structured differently. Combined, they are intended to assess students' abilities to read, write and listen for:
- information and understanding,
- literary response and expression,
- critical analysis and evaluation, and
- social interaction,
as per the state's standards for English Language Arts.
The exam is administered in two three-hour sessions, usually on different days. There are four separate parts.
- Task I-A: A passage is read aloud to students twice, from which they may take notes. They must then answer six multiple-choice questions and then write a persuasive essay, following several guidelines for a specific audience based on information in the passage.
- Task II-B: Students must follow guidelines to write another persuasive essay, and answer 10 multiple-choice questions, incorporating information based on two documents. One is a written passage typically almost two pages in length, the other is a chart or table.
- Task III-A: Students again develop an essay on a general theme from two different documents, one prose, the other a poem. There are also ten multiple-choice questions.
- Task IV-B: This final section is known as the "critical lens" essay. Students are provided with a brief quotation, the critical lens, which they must then use as the basis for an essay interpreting two literary works of their choice, often ones they have read in class. There are no multiple-choice questions on this section.
[edit] Exemptions from the Regents Exams
During the 1990s, some alternative assessment schools, similar in character to charter schools, were founded in parts of New York in an attempt to provide a way for students to graduate high school without taking any Regents Exams. Usually, the substitute graduation assessement involved would consist of the review and grading, by a panel of teachers, of an academic portfolio, or collection of the student's best work from all his or her years at the school. From such a "portfolio examination" would be issued a "Regents equivalency" grade for the areas of Math, English, History, and Science, and a "Regents Equivalency" diploma would be awarded to the student at commencement.
However, by the end of the 1990s most if not all of these self-labeled "alternative schools" have been forced to adopt some or all of the standard Regents Exam, and can no longer use portfolio examination criteria as the sole basis for graduation from the school. A notable example of this progression from full portfolio-based assessment to nearly-total Regents Exam based assessment is The Beacon School.
Though all public schools are required to follow either the Regents Exam system or the above mentioned alternative assessment, private schools may or may not. Most private schools do use Regents exams, and award Regents diplomas, but some private schools -- particularly academically prestigious ones -- do not, on the argument that their own diploma requirements exceed Regents expectations. For instance, high schools run by the Jesuits (e.g., Regis High School and Xavier High School in New York City or Canisius High School in Buffalo) have not used Regents exams for decades.
Additionally, in some schools, individual students can be exempted from taking the Regents Examination in Languages other than English if they complete a sequence in Art/Music, Business, and Technology (usually composed of five credits).
[edit] Regents Competency Test (RCT)
RCT tests are for identified special education students with Individualized Education Programs or students with a 504 plan specifying RCT options for Regents tests: RCT's can be taken before a student fails the corresponding Regents exam if this will help them be less stressed when taking the Regents, so they know that graduation does not hinge on a Regents exam. They are available for students until they graduate or when they turn 21. If they still cannot pass one of the RCT exam, an IEP diploma is awarded instead.
[edit] See Also
- Virginia Standards of Learning
- California Standardized Testing and Reporting
- Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System
- Texas Assessment of Academic Skills
- Washington (State) Assessment of Student Learning
