Regents Exams
by, Stefanie Cedar Shames, Class of 1977
On July 27, 1864, the New York State Board of Regents passed an ordinance that resulted in the first “preliminary” Regents Examinations, administered in November 1865 to eighth-grade students. The first Regents examinations for high school students were authorized at The University Convocation in 1876 and were first administered in June 1878. About 100 institutions participated, and the five subjects assessed were algebra, American history, elementary Latin, natural philosophy, and physical geography. Beginning in 1878, the list of exams grew considerably until 1979, when Regents Competency Tests (RCTs) were introduced, assessing basic skills, and discontinued in 2018. As learning standards have evolved , the Board of Regents continues to make changes to content, format, and scoring of the Regents examinations.
Ron Wencer's Ancient Hixtory article about the Regents Prayer, in the May 2025 issue of HixNews, made me remember my experiences with the Regents. When I was in high school, nothing created greater anxiety for college-bound students throughout New York State than the Regents exams. It was possible to pass the course and fail the Regents and have to take the course again! My first encounter with the Regents was in 1973-74. I took algebra in ninth grade, and we spent the entire school year learning the content and practicing for the Regents. And then, the news came that for the first time in history, the Regents exams were stolen, and not only that, cancelled! I remember such a feeling of relief. Teachers had to give us the grade they thought we would get, and I got a 99. I'm sure my teacher, maybe it was Mrs. Milbauer, thought I would make one stupid mistake, and I'm sure she was correct!
Geometry, on the other hand, was very difficult for me. My teacher was Mrs. Karish. She was nice and tried to explain the work, but I never did understand those theorems and postulates. I don't remember the grade I got, but it was good enough to pass. And passing would not have happened without the help of a private tutor!
Mr. Paisner was my Chemistry teacher. We all loved him, and if we were late to class, he charged us, donating the money to the American Heart Association. He used old, released Regents exams for our tests, so we had a lot of practice before the actual event, and I passed!
I'm sure there were others since I received a Regents diploma, but the Spanish Regents was most memorable. After taking Spanish for four years, I could read and understand it, but not use it in conversation. That's still true today. For the conversational part of the exam, we were all in the gym, and my friend Wendy was shaking her leg from nerves, and I reached over and grabbed her leg to make her stop distracting me. No proctor even noticed. When Mrs. Kozma read the multiple choice answers to each passage, she emphasized the correct answer...a, b, C, d. That is the sole reason I passed!
Today, I live in Florida, and our students are subjected to high-stakes testing starting at a very young age. I can only imagine how those tests have impacted them. Please write in and let us know your experiences with the Regents exams. Whether it is a comment or an article, we would love to hear from you!
References:
New York State Education Department. (n.d.). History of New York State assessments. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://www.nysed.gov/state-assessment/history-new-york-state-assessments
Steinberg, J. (2019, June 20). 30 years ago today, the New York Post shockingly published a stolen exam answer key on its cover, unknowingly awakening an interest in information security just as the Internet era was to begin. Retrieved June 17, 2025, from https://josephsteinberg.com/30-years-ago-today-the-new-york-post-shockingly-published-a-stolen-exam-answer-key-on-its-cover-unknowingly-awakening-an-interest-in-information-security-just-as-the-internet-era-was-to-begin/
