New York cancels most Regents exams

NEW YORK - Whether it's from behind one of those fiberglass partitions and separated by six feet with the masks on or maybe it's a district where it's all remote learning from home, there is nothing easy about this school year. But finally, at least in New York, there is a bit more breathing room.

A quick sigh of relief after the state decided to cancel most spring and summer Regents exams.

Ossining School District Superintendent Raymond Sanchez supports the decision, which makes high school students exempt from the specific tests, which are traditionally part of graduation requirements. Instead, kids will just have to pass the course instead.

Sanchez said it is hard enough just trying to make things safe enough to get kids into the classroom.

"That needs to be our focus and not a state assessment in the midst of all this," he said.

But here is where it gets a bit complicated, as reported by Chalkbeat: Students will still be required to take exams in algebra, English, living environment, and earth science. That's because earlier this year, over the objections of many school districts, the Biden administration decided to keep those tests in place.

"The federal government said they needed some way to determine how the pandemic has affected student learning," Chalkbeat reporter Reema Amin said. She also noted that states still hope the federal government will reconsider.

It's also important to point out that no matter the outcome for any test that a kid may have to take this year, the results won't be held against them or the local districts.

Parents should expect to see looser restrictions for grades three through eight as well and some new information should be sent out this week, Chalkbeat reported.