IMPORTANT: The
booklets for each day of the January Regents Examination period will
be shipped separately so as to arrive at schools (or approved storage
locations) between 8:00 a.m.
and 4:00 p.m. on the school day preceding the administration of the examinations.
See “Shipment of Examination Materials” below for further
information. |
This memorandum provides essential information about the administration
of the January examinations. In addition, all persons coordinating the administration
of the January 2008 examinations should be familiar with the publication Regents
Examinations, Regents Competency Tests, and Proficiency Examinations: School
Administrator’s Manual, 2001 Edition. This manual may be accessed
on the Department’s web site at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/osa/hsinfogen/hsinfogenarch/sam2001.pdf.
Accompanying this memorandum are the list of regional centers, a memorandum
regarding the content of each January examination, the schedule for the January
2008 examination period, and the schedule for the June 2008 examination period.
Shipment of Examination Materials
Testing materials are delivered to schools in several shipments, depending
on the examinations requested. The performance test (Part One) of the
Comprehensive Regents Examinations in languages other than English has already
been shipped to schools that requested those examinations.
Nonsecure materials for the January examinations are shipped to schools in
cardboard cartons and/or padded mailers and are delivered in early January.
This shipment includes student identification sheets and answer booklets
for the RCT in Writing; answer sheets for all other RCTs; answer booklets
for the Regents Examinations in English, social studies, and languages other
than English; Earth Science Performance Test materials; science reference
tables; directions for administering and scoring all examinations; and Regents
diplomas.
January examinations will be shipped separately in locked Regents boxes,
with each school (or Department-approved storage location) receiving up to
five shipments: one delivery for each day for which examinations were requested,
plus a fifth shipment containing only scoring keys for any examinations scheduled
for the last day of the examination period. The examination booklets for
each day of the January examination period will be delivered to schools or
approved storage locations between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on the weekday,
excluding holidays, preceding the date the examinations are scheduled to
be administered. Scoring keys for each day will be delivered on the same
day their corresponding examinations are administered. For example, Regents
boxes delivered on January 23 will contain the scoring keys for the examinations
scheduled for January 23 and test booklets for those scheduled for January
24.
Please be sure that someone in your school or approved storage location
is available to accept the examination shipment between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00
p.m. on the days when deliveries are expected. Should any problems occur
in connection with the delivery of examination materials, call this office
at 518-474-8220 or 474-5902 immediately.
The locked plastic sliding-lid Regents boxes will be secured with two locks
and a plastic crimp. Padlock keys will be mailed in one or more envelopes
to the principal and should arrive before the locked Regents boxes. If padlock
keys for each day of the examination period have not been received three
days before the expected delivery date, please call the Test Distribution
Unit at 518-474-5914.
Checking the Examination Shipment
Enclosed in each delivery is a shipping notice listing the materials included.
As soon as you receive the Regents box(es), use the shipping notice and your
School Record of Examinations Requested to ensure that all appropriate examination
materials have been received for each subject. If your inventory shows that
the shipment contains excess examination materials or that it contains examination
materials that you did not request, please notify the Office of State Assessment
immediately via fax to 518-474-2021. It is the principal’s responsibility
to maintain these excess materials under the same strict security as the
examinations that your school will be administering, as outlined on the following
page under Safeguarding Examination Materials. Under no circumstances may
the sealed packages of secure examination materials be opened during this
inventory. The number of test booklets contained in each of the sealed packages
is indicated below.
- English editions of RCTs and Regents Examinations (except the Regents
Comprehensive Examination in French and the RCTs in Global Studies, United
States History and Government, Mathematics, and Science): Each sealed
package contains 25 booklets.
- Spanish editions of Mathematics A, Living Environment, Physical Setting/Earth
Science, Global History and Geography, and United States History and
Government: Each sealed package contains 25 booklets.
- Braille and large-type editions, and translations (other than Spanish)
of Regents Examinations: The exact quantity requested will be shipped
to the school.
- Restricted editions—the Regents Comprehensive Examination in
French; the RCTs in Global Studies, United States History and Government,
Mathematics, Reading (Braille only) and Science; and the alternative
language editions of these RCTs: Each test booklet is numbered and
sealed in a separate envelope. Exact quantities requested are shipped
to the school.
Emergency Supplies of Examination Materials
If a shipment for your school does not include all the materials needed,
additional materials must be obtained from a nearby regional center. The
regional center must be contacted immediately to ensure that sufficient examination
materials will be available when your school’s representative arrives.
A list of regional centers accompanies this memorandum. At regional centers
in New York City, emergency supplies of English editions of all examination
materials and selected translations of Regents Examinations and alternative
language editions of RCTs will be available. At regional centers outside
New York City, emergency supplies of English editions of all examination
materials will be available. Translated editions of Regents Examinations
and alternative language editions of RCTs will not be available
at most regional centers outside of New York City. Braille and large-type
editions will not be available at regional centers. If you require
an emergency supply of materials that are not available at the regional
centers or if you require more than 25 booklets of an examination that is
available at the regional center, please send a fax to the Office of State
Assessment at 518-474-2021.
Examination materials are available at regional centers only on the day of
the examination. Secure materials for morning examinations will be released
in the morning; secure materials for afternoon examinations will not be released
until after 11:00 a.m. Scoring keys will not be released by regional centers
until after the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadlines (10:00 a.m. for morning
examinations, 2:00 p.m. for afternoon examinations). Subject to these limitations,
materials may be picked up at regional centers between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00
p.m.
In order to obtain examination materials at a regional center, an individual
must present a letter of authorization written on his or her school’s
letterhead and signed by the principal. The letter must identify the person
picking up the materials and list the specific materials requested. Anyone
obtaining examination materials must provide identification with a photograph
and countersign the authorization letter before the materials will be released.
safeguarding examination materials
The principal of each school requesting examinations must make the necessary
arrangements to safeguard the materials requested for the school. Upon delivery,
the locked Regents boxes must immediately be placed in the Department-approved
safe or vault at the storage location designated by the school. Examination
materials may be removed from locked Regents boxes only for inventory and
for administration of the examinations on the scheduled date.
If the locked Regents boxes containing a school’s shipment of secure
examination materials are found to be too large for the approved storage
location, the principal who requested the examinations must contact this
office immediately
at 518-474-8220 or 474-5902 to make arrangements for storage of the boxes
in an alternative approved location.
The Regents box keys and the combination or key to the safe or vault must
be maintained under strict security conditions to preclude access to examinations
by students and other unauthorized persons. When the safe or vault where
the Regents boxes are stored is unlocked, it must be kept under continuous
supervision by school personnel. Additionally, the locked Regents boxes must
be visually checked daily by the person in charge of the administration of
the examinations to ensure that they have not been tampered with and that
their contents remain secure.
The sealed packages containing examination booklets and teacher dictation
copies must not be opened until the day each examination is scheduled to
be administered, and no earlier than is necessary for distribution to proctors.
Scoring key packages must be kept secure and may not be opened until after
the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadlines
of 10:00 a.m. for morning examinations and 2:00 p.m. for afternoon examinations.
Department personnel will make unannounced visits to some schools after the
examination materials have been delivered in order to verify that they are
being properly stored. If a violation of storage procedures is found, all
examination materials will immediately be removed from the school and transferred
to a location designated by the Department. The school principal will have
to arrange to pick up examination materials from that location each morning
and afternoon during the Regents Examination period, and to pick up scoring
keys after the morning and afternoon Uniform Statewide Admission Deadlines
on the appropriate days. The school will then be required to store all examination
materials at a location designated by the Department for a period of at least
one year. In addition, the Department may rescind the school’s authorization
to administer examinations.
Following the examination period, the principal must return to the Department
the completed Examination Storage Certificate and Deputy and Proctor Certificate
(received in the shipment of secure materials).
Administering and Scoring Examinations
The general administration procedures for secondary-level examinations are
provided in the School Administrator’s Manual. Specificdirections
for administering regular and restricted examinations are included in the
shipment of nonsecure examination materials. These materials must be distributed
to teachers before the examination date in order to give them time to become
familiar with the instructions.
Schools will receive no more than eight scoring keys for each State examination.
Restricted rating guides for the Regents Comprehensive Examination in French
and for the English and alternative language editions of the RCTs in Global
Studies and United States History and Government may not be photocopied.
Should the necessity arise, all other scoring materials may be photocopied,
but only after the Uniform Statewide Admission Deadline for the corresponding
examination. To ensure that correct scores are obtained, make certain that
all persons responsible for rating examinations are provided the appropriate
scoring materials:
- Regents Examinations. The same scoring materials are provided
to score the regular English editions and the braille and alternative language
editions.
- RCT in Mathematics. Two scoring keys are provided: one for the
English edition, the second for the alternative language and braille editions.
- RCT in Science. Two scoring keys are provided: one for the English
and braille editions, the second for the alternative language editions.
- RCT in Reading. Two scoring keys are provided: one for the regular
English edition, and the second for the restricted braille edition.
- RCT in Writing.A single scoring key is provided for the regular
English edition and for the braille edition.
- RCT in Global Studies. One set of scoring materials is provided
for all editions: the semi‑transparent overlay for the Part One multiple-choice
questions, and the restricted sequentially numbered rating guide for the
Part Two essays.
- RCT in United States History and Government. One set of scoring
materials is provided for all editions: the semi‑transparent overlay
for the Part One multiple-choice questions, and the restricted sequentially
numbered rating guide for the Part Two essays.
Reporting Administration and Scoring Irregularities to the Department
The building principal is responsible for all aspects of the school’s
administration of State examinations and must take appropriate measures both
to prevent, as much as possible, and to investigate all irregularities associated
with the administration and scoring of these examinations. In addition, the
principal must report the following events in writing to the Office of State
Assessment:
- All student infractions of the Department’s policy prohibiting
the use of cell phones and other communications devices during State examinations.
- All confirmed cases of students having committed fraud on State examinations.
- All interruptions of testing sessions including those caused by power
outages or fire alarms.
- All suspected or confirmed cases of teachers, administrators or paraprofessionals
giving aid to students during a State examination or altering student responses
on an examination paper.
- All instances in which a State examination is administered without Department
authorization at a time outside the published Statewide schedule.
- All instances in which a school does not conform to the Uniform Statewide
Admission Deadline in administering a State examination.
- All instances in which scorers do not rate State examinations in accordance
with the scoring materials provided by the Department.
- All cases in which a school official does not adhere to the Department
policy concerning the finality of examination scores as determined by the
teacher scoring committees. This policy is explained in the Directions
for Administering Regents Examinations, January Administration under
the heading “Rating Examination Papers” on pages 12 through
14.
- All cases in which a school official or staff member alters or otherwise
misrepresents a student’s earned examination score during scoring,
recording, or reporting.
- All cases in which student answer papers are lost prior to the recording
of the scores in students’ permanent records. (See page 6.)
Principals must report all such events in writing by fax to 518-474-1989
or via e-mail toemscassessinfo@mail.nysed.gov.
More complete information on strategies for avoiding the occurrences listed
above and for addressing them should they occur may be found in the School
Administrator’s Manual and in the Directions for Administering
Regents Examinations.
Testing Accommodations
Students with Disabilities
Principals must ensure that students with disabilities are provided the testing
accommodations specified in their Individualized Education Programs or Section
504 Accommodation Plans when they take State examinations. Under certain
conditions, special examination arrangements may be made for general education
students taking State examinations. The guidelines to be followed in such
circumstances are provided on page 16 of the School Administrator’s
Manual.
Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) Students
Schools may provide the following testing accommodations to LEP students:
- Time Extension: Schools may extend the test time for LEP students.
Principals may use any reasonable extensions, such as “time and a
half” (the required testing time plus half that amount), in accordance
with their best judgment about the needs of the LEP students. Principals
should consult with each student’s classroom teacher in making these
determinations.
- Separate Location: Schools are encouraged to provide optimal
testing environments and facilities for all students. They may administer
State examinations to LEP students individually or in small groups in a
separate location.
- Third Reading of Listening Selection: Proctors may read the
listening passage a third time to LEP students who are taking the Regents
Comprehensive Examination in English. This accommodation is not permitted
on State examinations in languages other than English.
- Bilingual Dictionaries and Glossaries: LEP students may use
bilingual dictionaries and glossaries when taking State examinations in
all subjects except languages other than English.
The bilingual dictionaries and glossaries may provide only direct
translations of words. Bilingual dictionaries or glossaries that provide
definitions or explanations are not permitted.
- Simultaneous Use of English and Alternative Language Editions: For
those State examinations for which the Department provides direct written
translations, LEP students may use both an English and an alternative language
edition of the test simultaneously. However, they should be instructed
to record all of their responses in only one of the two editions. The alternative
language edition used by the student should be so indicated on the student’s
answer document. (Note: the alternative language editions of RCTs provided
by the Department are often not direct translations of the English editions
being administered during the same examination period and may not be
used simultaneously with an English edition.)
- Oral Translation for Lower Incidence Languages: Schools may
provide LEP students with an oral translation of a State examination when
there is no translated edition provided by the Department. This accommodation
is permitted for State examinations in all subjects except English
and languages other than English. All translations must be oral, direct
translations of the English editions; written translations are not allowed.
No clarifications or explanations may be provided. Translators should receive
copies of the English editions of the tests one hour prior to administration.
The Department’s Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language
Studies and the Bilingual/ESL Technical Assistance Centers (BETACs) can
assist schools in locating suitable translators.
- Writing Responses in Native Language: LEP students making use
of alternative language editions or of oral translations of State examinations
may write their responses to the open-ended questions in their native language.
Scoring the tests is the responsibility of the school. However, the Department’s
Office of Bilingual Education and Foreign Language Studies and the BETACs
can assist schools in locating persons who can translate the students’ responses
into English to facilitate scoring of the answer papers.
Department Review
Selected principals requesting examinations will receive notice concerning
Department review by the end of the January Regents Examination period. This
notice will indicate each subject for which answer papers must be submitted
via traceable mail to the Department. All answer papers not requested must
remain on file in the school for one year. Schools asked to submit answer
papers for the Regents Comprehensive Examination in English or Mathematics
A should produce and retain in the school photocopies of answer papers for
all seniors scoring below 65 on these examinations. These photocopies will
be needed by the school to determine which component(s) the students may
be eligible for in the Spring 2008 Component Retesting.
Handling of Students’ Completed Examination Materials
When a student has completed a State examination, the student’s answer
materials should be collected and confirmed, or “checked in,” by
a proctor and logged in to a list of examinees before that student is permitted
to leave the testing room. When they are hand scored, answer papers for all
State examinations must remain in the custody of teachers or administrators
in the school building or regional scoring site until the rating process
is complete and scores are recorded on the students’ permanent records.
When answer papers are scored in cooperation with another school, they may
be transported to the cooperating school for such scoring. It remains the
principal’s responsibility to ensure the security of those papers while
they are out of the building. Answer papers that are sent to a scanning center
for scoring may be stored either at the scanning location or in the schools
where the examinations were administered, as long as storage conditions are
maintained that will not limit the principal’s access to an individual
student’s answer papers. As an additional precaution, all scrap paper
should be retained until all examination scores have been recorded.
If a student’s answer paper is lost, the principal or superintendent
must conduct an inquiry and file a written report with this office. This
report must include (1) a description of the loss or disappearance, including
a list of all students whose papers are missing; (2) the examination title
and administration date; (3) the likely cause of the loss or disappearance;
and (4) what steps will be taken to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
Materials Returned in the Regents Box
The materials that must be returned to the Department in the Regents boxes
are listed on page 22 of the School Administrator’s Manual and
on the checklist provided to schools in the shipment of secure test materials. Please
combine all materials to be returned to the Department in one Regents box
whenever possible.
Return all Regents boxes no later than February 20. Please check all storage
locations for any boxes remaining from previous examination periods and return
those boxes as well. Each school must pay for the return shipment of its
own Regents boxes; the boxes may not be returned collect. The boxes may be
returned by United Parcel Service (UPS) or any other carrier. Regardless
of the carrier, the school must call the carrier, make the necessary arrangements,
and pay for the return shipment. If the Regents boxes for a school are returned
collect, the Department will refuse delivery.
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