Regents exams have been administered since 1865 they are tests that are given to measure how well you know a certain subject for example History, Math, English, Science etc. As of Jan according to the New York Post the Department of Education wants to get rid of, or hold back 13 out of 17 regents examinations keeping only one regent in Math, Science, History and English. The Department of Education also wants to get rid of the translating of tests however not Spanish but all others. They believe that by eliminating all of these regents they would save $13.7 million in preparation costs. They say that if they did end up deciding to do this they would have to end up lowering their standards all together.
"It was not something I was anticipating but when you go back and consider what the department is facing...It's not surprising" said Robert Lowry of the state superintendents council. Facing a $9 billion state deficit, Gov. Paterson's latest budget proposal suggests $4.7 million in cuts from the Department of Education and $1.5 billion more in school aid. This is a win win situation because although the Department of Education don't want to get rid of the tests we would be savings millions of dollars for school aid to help the schools which is a good thing. However schools won't have tests to judge our knowledge on of the subjects so our grades would be strictly based on how we are in the classroom and our projects, tests and, class participation in class. For many students this can also be a good thing because some students may have failed a particular regent and would have to go to summer school to retake it which takes up half of your summer, so without these regents it would give students an opportunity over the summer to get a job make money and not have to go to summer school.
By making this change I think that both sides win, what do you think?
This is a link to one article that speaks about this situation.
http://gothamist.com/2010/03/09/are_regents_exams_on_their_way_out.php
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Well I do not believe that the standards should be lowered. By lowering the standards, kids won't really be learning that way. I mean sure we would all like to pass, but I'm sure teachers would not like that. I am all for getting rid of the language regents. It's just unfair. Some students can not learn another language. Others already know a language other than english, so they get to pass their language regent 1, 2, 3. It is not fair to other kids who have to work hard and struggle to learn a language they may or may not even understand. I think it is a win win situation also.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the fact that some regents may be disqualified is absurd. Regents show the true level of knowledge a child gained. Some teachers are less difficult then others, and may pass students without the students really trying. To escape such unfair actions, the regents were made. In the end of the year, the whole nation of the United States would be able to see which schools have higher education levels. Even though the regents for the most important classes will remain, it is still unfair to other classes, which students may appreciate more due to their different talents. In conclusion, I strongly believe that the regents for other classes should remain.
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