The New York State Education Department has canceled the January high school Regents exams due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement came Tuesday from State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa, who also said that no decisions have been made regarding the June and August 2022 Regents exams or any other state assessment programs.
Rosa noted that the state recently saw a record in daily COVID-19 cases, and she said that, “Once again, the January Regents exams cannot be safely, equitably and fairly administered across the state.”
The state also canceled the January 2021 Regents exams but did did have a limited series of Regents exams available last June.
Hamburg Central Schools Superintendent Michael Cornell, who also serves as president of the Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association, said the decision sends a "mixed message" from the state.
"Yesterday I heard the governor say schools will remain open. School is important, school is safe, they're gonna remain open," Cornell said. "And then I get a memo today from the New York State Education Department that cites COVID as the reason for why we're going to have to cancel the January Regents examination because kids might not have access to it. Subtext: school might be closed."
Cornell said teachers already have a "good idea how well kids are doing academically" because they're assessing them all the time, even without a Regents exam. He "applauds" the governor for keeping schools open and does not expect any county-wide closings after the first of the year, although districts may decide to close due to staff shortages or similar reasons.
Niagara Falls City Schools Superintendent Mark Laurrie said losing the exam is a "double-edged sword."
"While we don't have that interim measure of knowing what kids are being able to do in the middle of the year, it's really an equity issue because there has been so much interrupted instruction, that I believe the Regents, wisely —even though I wish this announcement would have come out sooner — wisely decided to cancel," Laurrie said.
He said many parents this year, due to COVID and other reasons, have chosen not to send their children to school and a "one-size-fits-all test" probably "isn't the wisest decision" until there's more consistent instruction in schools. Laurrie said "it's going to take a long time to recover," but "we're on the right track."
Both Laurrie and Cornell said cancellation of the January Regents exam should not impact students' college applications.
The state Education Department will ask the Board of Regents to approve modifications to the assessment requirements that students must meet to earn high school diplomas, credentials and endorsements.
