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June 16, 2009

Students stress as Regents begin

PLATTSBURGH — This week is critical — and stressful — for New York state high-school students.

Regents exams, part of a graduation requirements, are under way, and no matter how students fared in particular classes, they need to pass the tests to earn diplomas.

The tests are given to students seeking high-school Regents credit through the State Education Department and are prepared by New York teachers.



FIRST TEST: 1865

The State Board of Regents created an entrance exam for students to attend high school that was first administered in 1865, while the first Regents exam was June 1878.

For a time, the state offered 42 tests, with vocational exams appearing in the 1920s and 1930s, only to be dropped by 1970.

Today, the exams include English language arts, foreign languages, social studies, science and math.

Students must pass five Regents exams to earn a high-school diploma.

“If they don’t, they are given other times to take it,” said Jerry Griffin, principal of Franklin Academy in Malone. “They are offered again in August and again in January.”

Those who pass additional tests in math, science and a foreign language, above the required tests, can obtain an Advanced Regents Diploma.

“But that is changing and could be up to nine exams,” explained Beekmantown High School counselor Jennifer Duffy.



LONG TESTS

Regents exams occur every January, June and August, though the majority are scheduled for June.

Most are three hours long and divided into a multiple-choice section and a portion for a long answer/essay. The foreign-language Regents also include listening skills, and the history Regents require short-answer responses.

Regents are scored on a 100-point scale, and students must earn a 65 and above to pass, though scores of 55 and up can earn credit toward a local diploma.

“Our role is to make sure students who need to take Regents are aware of which ones they need to sit for and what times they are,” Duffy said.

“That’s especially important for students who may have taken them before and didn’t pass but need to pass them to fulfill diploma requirements.”



EXTRA HELP

Struggling students receive Academic Intervention Services to help them the second time around.

Teachers offer extra prep time for all students taking Regents exams, usually after school and sometimes during final-exams week.

“This is a stressful time of year,” Duffy said. “Students are trying to make it through classes and get credits, and seniors are trying to graduate and prepare for next year.”



‘WANTED TO DO WELL’

Stephanie DeMane is relieved she completed her final Regents last year.

The Plattsburgh High School senior found the exams annoying, especially when she had to take one for an AP course.

“Technically, if you take an AP course and pass, you don’t have to take the Regents, but the schools make us take them anyway.”

She found the Math A Regents easy but said Math B was difficult, while English was the most challenging for her. She didn’t do much to prepare for the exams except to take practice tests for Math B.

“I’m pretty good at testing,” said DeMane, who goes to Brown University in the fall to study biotechnology, “but I wanted to do well on them.”



FINALS DAYS

Even the brightest students get nervous for Regents exams, counselors say.

“It can be the most critical time in the life of a high-school student,” Griffin said.

Most students graduate with Regents diplomas, he said, though an alternative diploma is offered to those who are unable to pass Regents exams, such as children with special needs.

“This is a stressful time of year for students, but it is an exciting time of year, too, especially for seniors gearing up for graduation, which is the greatest thing we do.”



E-mail Stephen Bartlett at:

sbartlett@pressrepublican.com

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