Regents Examinations - Exam Protocol and Format

Exam Protocol and Format

The exams themselves are administered according to strict and specific instructions: printed on the cover of each exam booklet is the date and time when the examination is to begin, and the proctor is required to follow specific regulations for administering the test — e.g., regulations for students leaving the room during the tests, the prohibition of cell phone use by students during a test, and the handling of the test papers. Proctors are required to sign an oath stating that they have followed the regulations, and students also sign an oath stating that they have not received assistance or otherwise cheated on the test. If a student's cell phone (or any other electronic device) makes noise, the student's test will become void, and he/she must retake that exam at a later time.

Most Regents exams are three hours long. The exception is the Earth Science exam, which consists of a 41 minute (approximate) laboratory component usually given up to two weeks prior to the three hour written exam. Most Regents exams are structured in the following format:

• A multiple-choice section (Part I), which is usually between 30 to 50 questions, and,
• a long-answer/essay section (Part II), which consists of either a selection of detailed questions for which the work must be shown (for math and physical sciences), or a set of essay topics, of which one or two must be written about in detail (for the social sciences).

In 2005, the Board of Regents began modifying the mathematics curriculum. An integrated approach that taught topics in geometry and algebra during each of three years, with exams normally taken after a year and a half and again after three years, was replaced by a curriculum that divides topics into Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II/Trigonometry. Each of these take the form of a one-year course with a Regents Examination at the end of the year. The "Math A" and "Math B" exams have been eliminated and are replaced by "Integrated Algebra", "Geometry", and "Algebra II and Trigonometry".

Beginning in January 2011, the English Language Arts exam was reduced from a six hour exam to a three hour exam. The exam still contains essay components, but has greater emphasis on reading comprehension and less on writing.

The format of the laboratory practical for Earth Science was changed in 2008. Currently, it consists of three sections, each with a time limit of nine minutes. While administering the test, there are multiple stations for each section. Each station uses different data, but the same task. For example, each section 1 station may have different rocks and minerals, though the task will be the same.