Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, schools across New York state have had to adjust accordingly, which led to the postponement of assessment exams for grades three through eight and now the cancellation of Regents Examinations.
The decision to cancel the Regents Examinations was made following the statewide closures of school districts, in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The Board of Regents and New York State Education Department has made changes to the requirements that students must meet in order to graduate, or earn credentials, in a timely manner.
Students who were planning to take one or more Regents Exam must meet the following requirements in order to be exempt from passing the assessments to be issued a diploma:
- The student is currently enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and will have earned credit in such course of study by the end of the 2019-20 school year; or
- The student is in grade 7, is enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and will have passed such course of study by the end of the 2019-20 school year; or
- The student is currently enrolled in a course of study culminating in a Regents examination and has failed to earn credit by the end of the school year. Such student returns for summer instruction to make up the failed course and earn the course credit and is subsequently granted diploma credit in August 2020; or
- The student was previously enrolled in the course of study leading to an applicable Regents examination, has achieved course credit, and has not yet passed the associated Regents examination but intended to take the test in June 2020 to achieve a passing score.
Student transcripts will not reflect an examination score for exempted Regents Examinations.
“In times of crisis difficult decisions must be made and the Board of Regents knows these are ultimately the right ones for New York’s students,” Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa said. “We are putting the safety of children, families and educators first, while ensuring that the hard work done by our students and teachers is honored.”
NYSED is developing efficient ways for school districts to record who is exempt from these examinations.
The decision of whether or not August Regents Examinations will be held has not yet been made.
Earlier in March, Next Generation Learning Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics were pushed back for one year. These assessments will take place in Spring 2022.
Other changes made to the state’s education planning includes exemptions from the June 2020 NYSED-approved +1 Pathway Assessments; exemptions of passing the Languages Other Than English Checkpoint B examination; and waivers for the completion of Career and Technical Education instruction and the 54 hour work-based learning requirement. All changes regarding education can be found here.
The New York State United Teachers union appreciated NYSED’s recent decisions for recognizing the challenges that the students and teachers may face during the pandemic.
“This is the right decision that will allow our students and their families to first and foremost focus on being safe and healthy without having to stress about preparing for traditional end-of-year exams this June,” President Andy Pallotta said.
