Dear Minisink Valley families,

Each spring, Regents exams are administered to students across New York State.  In addition to assessing the levels at which students demonstrate proficiency of the learning standards that guide classroom instruction, successfully earning a passing grade on these assessments is a required component in the process of earning a New York State high school diploma.

While some exams have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, four are still scheduled due to federal mandates. Please mark these dates for these four June exams still taking place for students who are enrolled in these courses:

• English Language Arts (ELA) on June 17
• Living Environment  June 22
• Algebra I on June 23
• Earth Science  on June 24

NYSED regulatory changes for this school year now allow that a principal may issue an exemption to the course and diploma requirements if a student meets one of the following criteria:

• The student is currently enrolled in a course of study culminating in one of the four Regents Examinations listed above and by the end of the 2021 school year, or the 2021 summer session, will have earned a passing final grade in the course.
• The student was previously enrolled in the course leading to an applicable Regents Examination, has achieved course credit, and has not yet passed the associated required Regents examination but was intending to take the test in June 2021 or August 2021 to achieve a passing score; or
• The student is in Grade 7 or 8, is enrolled in a course of study leading to a Regents, and has met the standards assessed in the provided coursework.

The following exams have been cancelled for June and August:

• Physics
• Chemistry
• Geometry
• Algebra 2
• U.S. History
• Global History
• Geography
• World Language Checkpoint A and  Checkpoint B 

In conjunction with the cancellation of these exams, NYSED graduation requirements have been modified to provide exemptions from the diploma requirements which require passing scores on these exams, provided students earn a passing grade in the course at the end of the 2021 school year.

To better understand the changes to this year’s testing and graduation requirements, NYSED has provided a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, which can be accessed through this link: NYSED June & August 2021 FAQ

Please note: This year’s Regents exams will only be administered at school and in-person.  They will not be administered remotely.  Students who are unable to participate in the test due to receiving fully remote instruction will utilize their course grade as the determining factor for Regents course credit.

We will share any updated NYSED information once received. If you have any questions about the Regents testing or diploma requirements, please contact your child’s guidance counselor.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Christian Ranaudo
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction