WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – The New York State United Teachers union says concerns have been emerging about the 2026 Regents exams, with teachers reporting that some test content did not align with what they were instructed to teach in the classroom.
A union spokesperson said the organization has received more than 2,700 reports of issues with the tests, including formatting errors and typos.
Science exam a ‘specific point of contention’
Chris DeFulvio, superintendent of Jefferson Lewis BOCES, said the science exam has been a specific point of contention this year, as a new version has been implemented in the last couple of years.
“With moving to that exam, there also came changes to the standard and changes to the curriculum,” DeFulvio said. “So anytime you can make a change in education, there can be some hiccups and road bumps along the way.”
DeFulvio said students had mixed experiences.
“I do believe there were students that took the exam and felt some real pressure and there were students that took the exam that felt like they did really well as well,” he said.
Future format changes on the horizon
DeFulvio said the Regents will shift away from a single-paper test format to a more inclusive format intended to better assess student readiness for life after high school.
“What we might have thought of in the past is that academically prepared is passing the Regents,” DeFulvio said. “What we’re thinking about for academically prepared in the future is how do students engage in civic engagement? What does service to their community look like?”
No timeline has been set for those changes. The test currently requires a pen and paper format.
The teachers union said it will continue reviewing this year’s test as it receives more feedback. Teachers and students can submit feedback on the union’s website.
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