Prepare for New York State Regents Exams and NYSTP Assessments

Whether your students are in high school, preparing for end-of-course New York State Regents Exams, or elementary or middle school, they need to be ready for New York State tests. The good news? With the proper practice and preparation, testing time will be just another opportunity for your students to show off everything they’ve learned.

Here’s what you need to know about NY Regents and the rest of the New York State Testing Program (and how to ensure your students are well prepared).

Developed and implemented by the New York State Education Department’s Office of State Assessment, the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP) is a system of assessment that evaluates students’ achievement of state learning standards and determines whether or not schools, districts, and the state are meeting the necessary targets.

NYSTP builds on the legacy of New York State Regents Exams, the first of which was administered in 1866. Today, NY Regents serve as end-of-course exams for high school students. To graduate, students must pass a NY Regents exam in English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and an additional Regents exam (or fulfill other graduation requirements).

All NY Regents exams are delivered online.

To ensure that students master grade-level content and skills and are prepared to move to the next level, New York State administers tests to students in grades 3 through 8. Students are tested on the following subjects:

• English Language Arts (grades 3–8)
• Mathematics (grades 3–8)
• Science (grades 4 and 8)

Students with severe cognitive disabilities are tested on the same subjects and in the same grades, as well as once in secondary school for each subject, using the New York State Alternate Assessment (NYSAA).

Paper- and computer-based tests are available for most of these exams; however, paper-based tests have a shorter testing window. The English language proficiency assessment, New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT), is administered to English language learners as early as kindergarten.

The state will transition to a new science test for grade 5, which will measure the new NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards taking effect in Spring 2024.

When tests like NY Regents and NYSTP exams are delivered virtually, they require students to know more than the subject matter. Students need to understand how to navigate the virtual test, interact with on-screen features and answer questions in the online environment.

In addition to covering the content that will be tested, you’ll want to ensure that your students have adequate time and practice in a virtual test-taking environment, so they’re not caught off-guard on test day.

To make practice time more beneficial, set your students up with the same device they’ll use on test day: a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer. Allow them to become familiar with the device and how virtual test-taking technology functions on its screen. Along with multiple choice questions, virtual tests often involve open-ended questions (which require students to type out a response) or technology-enhanced questions which take advantage of testing software features like drag-and-drop, graph building, and multiple selections.

Give your students ample opportunities to practice in a virtual test-taking environment, and they’ll enter test day with the skills and confidence to face and ace the test.

To make practicing for NY Regents and other NYSTP exams as easy as possible, Edulastic has already uploaded practice tests and released items to the Edulastic Public Library. You can access these practice materials with a free account and more! — and welcome your students into the Edulastic virtual environment for practice sessions that can provide insight into what they need to focus on in preparation for upcoming exams.

Ready to get started?

Join Edulastic for FREE to prepare your students for NY Regents and NYSTP Exams

Resources

• http://www.nysed.gov/state-assessment
• https://www.nysedregents.org/elementary-intermediate.html