NY may ease Regents requirements while holding to federal test mandate
BY ALEJANDRA O'CONNELL-DOMENECH
School districts in New York state
will still be required to administer
standardized tests this year despite
the pandemic, but officials are working
to waive the exams graduation
requirements and cancel some tests
altogether.
On Monday, the Biden administration
announced states would not be
given a blanket waiver for federally
required exams but schools could administer
shorter or remote versions
of the exam as well as extend testing
windows.
New York State Education Department
officials responded by saying
they were “disappointed” in the decision
but said the federal government
“made the right call” in stating that
no student should be made to come to
school to take an exam and agree that
exam results would only be used to
measure student learning.
As a result, NYSED plans to propose
a number of modifications to state
exams during its next Board of Regents
meeting in March including waiving
federally required Regents Exams as a
graduation requirement and canceling
all non-required Regents Exams.
“USDE agreed to uncouple state
assessments from accountability measures
so no school will be affected by
the results of state assessments and
the results will solely be used as a
measure of student learning,” said
NYSED spokesperson Emily DeSantis
in a statement. “Given these circumstances,
the Department will propose
a series of regulatory amendments at
the March Board of Regents meeting so
Regents Exams would not be required
to meet graduation requirements and
to cancel any Regents Exam that is not
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.20 COM | FEB. 26-MARCH 4, 2021
required by USDE to be held.
New York state is required to give
annual standardized tests to third
though eighth-grade students and high
school students are required to pass
five Regents exams in a math, science,
social studies, and English but state officials
last month requested a waiver
from the federal education department
to exempt third through 12th-grade
students from taking state exams this
spring.
Officials argued that amid the ongoing
coronavirus pandemic standardized
tests could not be “safely, equitably
and fairly administered to students
in schools across the state,” Board of
Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young
Jr. said in a statement.
Last year, NYSED officials canceled
June, August and January 2021
Regents exams due to the pandemic
and allowed some students scheduled
to take Regents in order to fulfill the
graduation requirements to forgo exams
.M
any teachers who have largely
opposed administering the exams during
the pandemic supported the state’s
proposal.
“In a year that has been anything
but standard, mandating that students
take standardized tests just doesn’t
make sense,” said president of New
York State United Teachers Andy Pallotta.
“As the educators in the classroom,
we have always known that
standardized tests are not the best way
to measure a child’s development, and
they are especially unreliable right
now. We need to ensure that our students
who have been hit hardest during
the pandemic receive the support
they need. Sizing up students with
inequitable and stressful exams is not
the solution.”
Photo via Getty Images
We all love good stories.
Stories that inspire us; stories
that allow us to dream
beyond anything we have
thought was possible before.
This is such a story-- A story
of audacity. The audacity of
educators who believe the
only difference between any
one individual and the next is
opportunity. In this case, it is
the opportunity to be exposed
to an education: a discipline
and rigor that once was reserved
for our nation’s elite.
This is a story of how one
school with a small, dedicated
team has the audacity to say:
we can produce those future
leaders too; nonetheless in
urban neighborhoods with
distractions and issues that
provides neither the time nor
resources to make this dream
automatic.
“Hard work generates unlimited
options,” is not a mere
saying of Collegiate Academy
for Mathematics and Personal
Awareness (CAMPA),
but the driving force that
propels this East New York,
Brooklyn school to greatness.
We take students who
have less to begin with and
give them more of everything
we believe makes a difference.
At CAMPA, we employ
discipline, genuine love for
children and families, and a
rigorous curriculum coupled
with high expectations.
CAMPA has already introduced
the high school curricula
to our middle school
students, while pairing a
math-focused academic program
with wellness and personal
awareness. Students
will be able to graduate with a
minimum of six Regents credits
(Algebra and Geometry,
Living Environment, Chemistry,
Global History and Geography,
United States History
and Government). The goal
is to prepare students in a holistic
manner equipping them
with the skills necessary to
thrive in high school, college
and beyond. CAMPA upholds
a key principle that traditionally
unsuccessful and underserved
students can learn at
high levels and experience academic
and personal success.
CAMPA Charter School endeavors
to expand into a high
school for the fall of 2021.
EDUCAT I O N , B RONX C H A R TER S C H O O L – A DV E RTI S EMENT
CAMPA Charter School Brings the High School Curricula To Middle School