DECISION REACHED ON JUNE PHYSICS EXAM
AUGUST EXAM TO BE OFFERED
by Judy Silberstein
The New York State Education Department (SED) announced the June Physics Regents Exam and scoring will remain the same.
However, State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said, "Many students, teachers and parents were troubled to find that the scores on the physics exam were lower than they expected." As a result, the state will schedule an additional physics exam on August 12 at 12:30 pm.
After a "careful analysis" of the test and the scoring, the SED determined it is confident that the exam's content is "consistent with the learning standards" and the passing scores "represent the appropriate level of achievement."
Nevertheless, the SED reports a large drop in scores when compared to the previous year's results for the schools participating in the review. This year, 67% passed the June exam (with a score of 65 to100), 16% achieved mastery (85-100) and 33% failed (0-64). Last year, 88% passed, 33% achieved mastery, and 11% failed.
In Mamaroneck, the scores showed similar declines. In most years, no one fails the Physics exam, but this year almost 20% failed. The exam score will not be averaged into the final grade for the year, but it will appear on a student's transcript.
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