By Adama Ahmed
The New York regents exams — required to pass many high school classes, as well as to graduate with a Regents diploma — have been canceled this June due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Chancellor Betty A. Rosa of the New York state Board of Regents announced to the public that the June regent exams would be canceled.
”In times of crisis difficult decisions must be made and the Board of Regents knows these are ultimately the right ones for New York’s students. These are extraordinary decisions for an unprecedented time, and we thank our school communities for their support and continuing dedication during the statewide school closure,” Rosa said.
This may not come as a surprise as there have been many modifications and cancelations taking place with other standardized testing such as the SAT, ACTs and Advanced Placement exams.
IHS sophomore Alanna Jarrett was originally going to take four different regents, but the cancelation has still left her uneasy.
“I feel like with regents being canceled, I’ve had a realization of what’s actually occurring in today’s society with the coronavirus, and that since I had four regents, not taking them makes this whole situation even scarier.”
This pandemic has created fear and confusion among many students as they don’t know what to expect for the future.
Alex Bjorgvinsson, IHS junior, said, “I was going to be taking one regent this year, and while I am slightly relieved that they’ve been canceled, I feel worried as to how this will affect our college application process as well as graduating from high school.”
However, the state assured students on April 7 that the tests would not be a requirement for high school graduation this year.
In a memorandum sent to the superintendents and principals of New York State by the state education department, it stated that, “students who during the June 2020 examination period would take one or more Regents Examinations shall be exempted from the requirements pertaining to passing such examinations in order to be issued a diploma.”
Students are now to only receive credit if they pass the class in place of the regents exam. A failure to pass the class will result in summer school.
“Students across New York State can breathe a collective sigh of relief,” said executive director of the New York State School Boards association Robert Schenieder.
Irvington High School confirmed the decision with an email from Ms. GM on Wednesday stating, “While there are several types of situations in which students are exempt from the Regents, most of our students fall into one two categories: Students who are currently enrolled in classes ending in Regents exams and who pass those classes in June are exempt from the exam. In addition, students who are currently preparing to take an exam for a class in which they are not enrolled and for which they have previously earned credit are also exempt from the exam.”
