New York State Looking To Cancel Regents And Standardized Exams?

The New York State United Teachers union is looking to cancel Regents and other standardized exams again this year due to the Coronavirus.

Back in November of 2020, Interim State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa announced the decision that all January 2021 high school Regents exams have been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. In a new letter sent to the education department, the union has requested a federal waiver of grade 3-8 and high school testing requirements for this year.

The union feels without standardized instruction there shouldn't be standardized testing:

“Without standardized instructional modes there should not be a standardized test at the end of the year,” the union wrote in the letter. “On top of this, teachers are trying to address the social emotional needs of students caused by the pandemic and racial unrest caused by the death of George Floyd. Given the recent surge, it is unlikely that will change much for the rest of the school year, we urge you to request a federal waiver of the grade three through eight and high school testing requirements to relieve the current pressure on the school system.”

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The union is also asking the New York State education department to delay implementing the Next Generation Learning Standards until 2023.

“Our students’ social and emotional wellbeing must come first,” NYSUT Executive Vice President Jolene T. DiBrango said. “It’s likely that many students will need more time to master new learning standards because of the disruption of the pandemic. We cannot punish them with new standards and tests that most in the education community are not ready to fully implement.”"

You can read more online here.

New York State United Teachers is a statewide union with more than 600,000 members in education, human services and health care.