Viva88

Essential information is provided in this memorandum concerning requesting and storing of the June 2021 Regents Examinations. In addition, all persons coordinating the administration of State examinations should be familiar with the School Administrator’s Manual which is available on the Department’s website.

This memorandum is accompanied by the School Record of Examinations Requested (DET 501), the Instructions for Submitting Your Examination Request Online (DET 502), and the Examination Schedule: June 2021 (DET 504). These forms are also available on the Department’s website. Important telephone and fax numbers for the Office of State Assessment (OSA) are listed on the last page of this memorandum.

The Department and the Board of Regents continue to make our primary focus the physical and mental health, safety, and well-being of the children and adults in our schools. Throughout the school year the Department has been mindful of the many uncertainties faced statewide. On February 12, the Department submitted two federal waiver requests related to state assessment and accountability requirements to the United States Department of Education (USDE). The waiver requests address the unique circumstances caused by the ongoing pandemic that have resulted in many students receiving some or all of their instruction remotely.

At its March meeting, the Board of Regents approved regulatory amendments such that students who during the June 2021 or August 2021 examination periods would have taken one or more Regents Examinations will be exempted from passing the assessments in order to be issued a diploma. In conjunction with these regulatory amendments the Department is cancelling all of the August 2021 Regents Examinations and will administer during the June 2021 examination period only those four Regents Examinations required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In addition, the spring 2021 field tests have also been cancelled.

To comply with the federal requirement, if USDE does not approve the assessment waiver requested by the Department, only the Regents Examinations below will be administered in June 2021:

• Algebra I
• English Language Arts
• Living Environment
• Physical Setting/Earth Science (Written Test, only)

ACCESSING THE ONLINE EXAMINATION REQUEST SYSTEM

A username and password are required in order to access the . If you were the principal of the same school during the 2019-20 school year and submitted your school’s examination requests, the expectation is that you know your username and password.

If you have forgotten or need to reset your password, use the “Reset Password” utility available at . More information on this utility may be obtained from the Department’s Delegated Account System (SEDDAS) Help Desk.

If you are a new principal for your school and do not have a valid username and password, determine which of the following situations applies to you.

• Principals of New York City Public Schools. Contact your Borough Assessment Implementation Director (BAID) at your Borough Assessment Office (BAO), in order to obtain your username and password.
• Principals of Public Schools or BOCES Programs Located Outside of New York City. Contact your School Superintendent or Delegated Administrator to request a username and password.
• Principals of Religious, Independent, or Charter Schools. Contact the SEDDAS Help Desk at seddas@nysed.gov to obtain a username and password. If you are a new principal for your school and have not yet done so, you must notify the Department’s Office of Information and Reporting Services via e-mail to datasupport@nysed.gov that you are the new principal. This notice must be written on the school letterhead stationery and must include your school’s BEDS Code, your full name, your e-mail address and phone number, the effective date of change, and the signature of the current superintendent or principal.

All questions regarding usernames and passwords for public schools must be directed to your Delegated Administrator in your local school district or, for religious, independent, or charter schools, the SEDDAS Help Desk.

REQUESTING EXAMINATION MATERIALS

Request only those quantities of examinations actually needed for administration to students in June. Schools are not permitted to request examinations for other schools. The quantity of examinations requested should match your school’s course enrollment plus the quantity needed for students who have completed the course of study and are retaking the examination, and for proctors of students with accommodations who may need extra copies.

Online requests for June examination materials must be submitted no later than April 16. Specific directions for using the online examination request system are included with this memorandum. Within three business days after your request has been processed, you will be sent a confirmation notice, via e-mail, indicating the number of examinations to be shipped to the school. It is of the utmost importance that you carefully check the confirmation notice for accuracy, in order to ensure that the correct quantities of examination materials will be shipped to your school.

Principals who find that they need additional materials may return to the online examination request system until April 16 to revise or add any supplemental quantities needed. Telephone requests will not be accepted. The Department will accept and enter on the school’s behalf only those requests submitted by fax for examinations or quantities that cannot, because of Department policies, be submitted online by the school.

Check all confirmation notices as soon as you receive them, so that supplemental requests, if needed, may be placed no later than April 16. Administrators determining the need for additional examination materials after that date will likely have to obtain them from a nearby regional center on the day of the examination.

GUIDELINES FOR REQUESTING SPECIFIC MATERIALS

• Regular test booklets: Request the exact quantity needed, plus not more than 5% for unanticipated increases.
• Restricted editions: The braille editions of the Regents Examinations in Living Environment and Physical Setting/Earth Science are available only in restricted form. Each copy of a restricted test is numbered and sealed in its own individual envelope and must be returned, whether used or unused, to the Department. The student answer booklets and the rating guides for all restricted examinations are also restricted and must be returned to the Department. Photocopying and/or school retention of copies of restricted examination booklets and/or notes pertaining to their contents is strictly prohibited. Schools must not request any more copies of these editions than they require for administration to students in June 2021. However, be sure to include a copy for the proctor(s), as well, if the restricted test will be read to the student(s) as a testing accommodation. Administrators are responsible for returning to the Department all restricted examination materials shipped to their school.
• Large-type and braille test booklets: With the exception of translated editions, large-type and braille test booklets are available for all examinations. Request the exact number of booklets needed for students whose Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or Section 504 Accommodation Plans (504 Plans) specifically require either of these accommodations. For the 2020-21 school year, OSA will be offering Regents Examinations in both English Braille American Edition (EBAE) and Unified English Braille (UEB). For each student taking an exam in the braille edition, request only the version (EBAE or UEB) the student will need for that exam. Do not request both editions. The laboratory activities for Part D of the Regents Examination in Living Environment will also be offered in UEB starting this school year. The Part D activities in UEB are available to ship to schools, and may be ordered by emailing OSA at emscassessinfo@nysed.gov. Sample copies of past examinations in large type and braille may be obtained from the Viva88Resource Center for the Visually Impaired, 2-A Richmond Avenue, Batavia, New York 14020 (585-343-5384).
• Answer sheets: Schools are required to contract with a Regional Information Center (RIC) or large-city scanning center for answer sheets and examination data processing services. The complete list of is available on the Department’s website. New York City religious and independent schools must contract with a scanning center outside the city. Questions about the requirement to scan Regents Examination answer sheets should be directed to OSA. Questions about data collection and reporting services should be directed to your RIC or large-city scanning center, or the Office of Information and Reporting Services at 518-474-7965.
• Essay booklets: The Department does not provide printed copies of the essay booklets for the Regents Examination in English Language Arts. The essay booklets are available on the Department’s website. Schools must print enough copies to supply one to each student during testing.
• Scoring keys for the restricted braille editions of the Regents Examinations in Living Environment and Physical Setting/Earth Science: Sufficient quantities of these materials will be included in the examination shipment, based on the number of test booklets requested. Scoring materials for all other examinations will be available online.
• Performance test for the Regents Examination in Physical Setting/Earth Science: The performance test for the Regents Examination in Physical Setting/Earth Science will not be shipped, administered, or required in June 2021.
• Regents-endorsed diplomas: These may be requested online, along with the school’s request for Regents Examinations, and will be shipped in late April for the June 2021 examination period.
• Braille or large-type auxiliary test materials: Teacher directions, scoring keys, etc., for English editions of State examinations may be requested for use by teachers with visual disabilities. These materials will be prepared only when a written request from the principal is received via fax no later than April 16.
• Reference tables for Regents Examination in Physical Setting/Earth Science: The Department does not provide printed copies of the reference tables. The reference tables are available on the Department’s website. The online edition must be used during testing and schools must print sufficient copies to supply one clean copy to each student for use during the examination. Note that the Department will continue to provide schools with the braille and large-type editions in the shipment of secure test materials. Additional information on the online edition of reference tables can be found on the Department’s website.
• Teacher’s Directions: The Department does not provide printed copies of Directions for Administering Regents Examinations or the Information Booklets for Scoring Regents Examinations. These documents are available on the Department’s website. Schools must print sufficient copies to supply one to each staff member involved in the administration and/or scoring of the examinations.

REQUESTING MATERIALS FOR CURRENT AND ELIGIBLE FORMER ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (ELLs)

The testing accommodations that may be provided to ELLs may also be provided to Former ELLs who met the exiting criteria specified in Part 154-2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education and were exited from English Language Learner status following their participation in one of the two most recent administrations (Spring 2018 or Spring 2019) of the Viva88English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT). Such students either achieved an overall level of Commanding on the NYSESLAT or achieved an overall level of Expanding on the most recent administration of the NYSESLAT and scored at Level 3 or higher on the Viva88Grades 3–8 English Language Arts Test, or earned a score of 65 or higher on the Regents Examination in English Language Arts.

These accommodations may not be provided to Former ELLs who were identified as English language Commanding based on NYSESLAT results achieved prior to the Spring 2018 administration. Additional guidance on identification of Former ELLs is available on our website.

Current and eligible Former ELLs may take State examinations either in an alternative-language edition or in English, whichever is more appropriate to the student’s reading skills. Regents Examinations in Algebra I, Living Environment, and Physical Setting/Earth Science are available in eight languages other than English: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, and Spanish. All translated editions of Regents Examinations must be requested using the online examination request system. Only English-language editions are provided for the Regents Examination in English Language Arts.

The translated editions of Regents Examinations offered in June 2021 are direct translations of the English editions, so current and eligible Former ELLs may be permitted to use both editions simultaneously.

SHIPPING OF EXAMINATION MATERIALS

Examination materials may be delivered in multiple shipments; approximate delivery dates are indicated on the following list. These delivery dates are contingent upon submission of your school’s online request prior to the ordering deadline.

• Late April: The Regents-endorsed diplomas requested for your school
• Just prior to the examination dates: Locked Regents boxes containing the secure examination materials

EXAMINATION STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

Every principal requesting State examinations must provide any information or affirmations required on the online examination request system. Your agreement to the security pledge on the first screen indicates that you understand and agree to comply with the examination security requirements described in this memorandum and in the School Administrator’s Manual.

Secure examination materials must be stored in locked Regents boxes, which must, in turn, be stored in a Department-approved safe or walk-in vault that meets all of the specifications listed below. Newly constructed vaults, existing vaults that have been modified, or newly purchased safes must be inspected by a Department representative and approved by the Department before secure materials may be stored in any such facility. Approval of such a storage facility is contingent upon its having met all of the criteria outlined below. If your school’s safe or vault has not been approved, but you believe that it meets the criteria outlined below, please arrange for an inspection by faxing a written request on school letterhead signed by the principal to OSA. Once your school’s safe or vault is approved by the Department, your school will be notified, and the secure storage location will be reflected on the “School Information” page of the online examination request system.

WALK-IN VAULTS must have all of the following:

• poured concrete floor
• no windows or access panels
• walls of reinforced cement block or concrete, sealed to a poured concrete floor below and structural floor or roof deck above
• metal door in a metal frame with interior or welded-pin hinges
• built-in dead-latch (deadbolt) with combination or key lock that allows exiting at all times

SAFES must meet or exceed Underwriters Laboratories (UL) TRTL-30 performance standards for burglary resistance, and must have:

• steel door at least 1 1/2" thick
• steel walls at least 1" thick
• 750 lbs. minimum weight
• built-in combination lock
• sufficient capacity to store the Regents boxes or the school’s largest examination request (minimum acceptable unobstructed inside dimensions of 11"H x 20"W x 27"D to store one Regents box)

Principals of schools with approved storage facilities must inform all school building personnel permitted to accept delivery of Regents boxes of the procedures for safeguarding secure examination shipments whether they arrive during or after school hours. Access to any safe or vault where locked Regents boxes are stored must be restricted so as to prohibit entry by students and other unauthorized persons. The locked Regents boxes must be visually inspected daily by the person in charge of the examinations, in order to ensure that they have remained secure. Schools with approved storage facilities that are storing examinations materials for another school may not remove those materials from the locked Regents boxes or release them to the school until the morning of the day on which the examination is scheduled to be administered.

The principal of a school building that does not have a Department-approved safe or vault must arrange to store Regents boxes containing secure examination materials in an approved safe or vault in another school, school district building, or BOCES building. Principals experiencing difficulty making arrangements for secure storage of examination materials should notify this office.

Please review the “School Information” page on the online examination request system. If the fields indicating where your examinations will be shipped are blank, your school must submit a new Examination Storage Plan (DET 599) for the June 2021 Regents Examination period. (See the message at the bottom of the “School Information” page for instructions; Adobe Reader® required.) Your school should also submit a new Examination Storage Plan if you need to amend pre-approved storage information. Your Examination Storage Plan must be sent via fax complete with the school name and address where you have arranged for the examinations to be securely stored. This office will then request written verification of the storage arrangements from the person in charge of your proposed “host” storage location before secure examination materials can be shipped to that address.

CONTACT INFORMATION

For questions regarding the requesting, storing, and administering of Regents Examinations call the Operations Group at 518-474-8220 or send an email to emscassessinfo@nysed.gov.

For other questions regarding Regents Examinations, call OSA’s main number at 518-474-5900 or send an email to emscassessinfo@nysed.gov.

Fax supplemental requests and Examination Storage Plans to 518-474-2021.

Other faxes regarding test administration may be sent to 518-474-1989.