State Regents exams scheduled for Jan. 25 to 28 are being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, top education officials said Tuesday.
No decisions have been made about the June and August Regents exams or any other state assessment programs, state Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said.
“Educators, school staff, communities, and families have taken painstaking efforts to ensure a safe and healthy school year,” Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young Jr. said in a statement. “Given the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, the recent acceleration in COVID-19 infections, and continuing upheaval the virus has caused in schools across the state, this decision is the right one.”
First administered in 1866, Regents exams traditionally served as gatekeepers to graduation. Students typically have been required to pass at least four exams, though the rule was temporarily suspended when the coronavirus hit in March 2020. To ensure students are not adversely impacted in January, the state Education Department again will ask Regents to adopt emergency requirements for graduation.
Port Washington Superintendent Michael J. Hynes agreed with the state’s decision.
“I appreciate the commissioner and chancellor making these difficult decisions and adjusting in real time,” he said. “I couldn’t agree with them more. The unpredictable nature of this pandemic means we must make decisions in the best interest of all students.”
Leaders of the New York State United Teachers Union, with about 600,000 members, issued a statement praising the decision.
“Given the unevenness of this school year with the pandemic still ongoing and the acute social-emotional needs of our students, canceling the January Regents exams is the right choice,” the statement read.
About 300,000 students statewide typically take the January tests, while about 1.6 million participate in June. Earlier this year, the state Education Department canceled all but four of the Regents exams in June, administering only the Algebra I, Earth Science (written test only), English Language Arts, and Living Environment assessments.
In June, students who received remote instruction did not have to go to school just to take the exams, and the tests were not a requirement for graduation.
The state canceled the August exams as well.
