No Regents in 2020: What does this mean for 2021? 

The Department of Education cancelled these exams last year due to statewide school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time of the cancellation announcement last April, it was still possible that NRHS would open before the end of the school year. Instead, schools were required to remain closed and students had to do without in-person instruction. Since then, the New York State Education Department has recognized a significant gap in student learning. This year, a majority of students in the North Rockland Central School District are hybrid learners, while some remain at home. 

Before the pandemic, all students were required to earn 44 credits and pass five Regents exams to graduate high school. Since students were exempt from their Regents exams last year, New York State must now devise new graduation requirements for these students.

Mr. Campione, NRHS Social Studies coordinator and teacher, would prefer to give his students local final exams instead of state administered tests. He believes the methods used within the Regents exams “can be very difficult and particularly unfair to large segments of students across the state.” 

Although English teacher Mrs. Sigillo characterizes the English Regents as “an easy test” for most students, she recognizes that “it is not designed for everyone to pass unfortunately.” Mrs.Sigillo would like to see the state offer an option for students to graduate high school without the Regents exam.  

The Rambling Raider surveyed 140 members of the Class of 2021 to discover a general consensus of how students feel about the Regents. This class was selected because by this time in their educations (being juniors at the time), they were familiar with test prep and sitting through these three-hour exams. The class already endured multiple Regents exams and were preparing to take the U.S. History and English Regents this year. 

Of the 105 students that participated in the survey, only 5% believe the Regents should be a graduation requirement. However, only 42% of the students would want the Regents to be replaced with a final exam. 32% of the students said no to a final exam and 28% were unsure.  

The NYS Department of Education is continuously monitoring the situation in school districts throughout the state. They have set tentative dates for the January, June and August 2021 Regents exams.