Storm moved exams

Last week’s storm was a day off for schools, but it also fell in the middle of regents and midterms for many area schools. At Oceanside High School, plans had to be made to make sure no exams were missed.

First, staff at Oceanside High School made three alternate schedules – one for just Tuesday off, one that had Tuesday off with a delayed opening for Wednesday, and one with both Tuesday and Wednesday off.

Since only Tuesday classes on Jan. 27 were canceled, exams that were originally on Tuesday — which included the Global History and Integrated Algebra Regents — moved to Friday, and the Friday morning exam, an Earth Science Honors midterm, was moved to Monday. Regular classes started again on Tuesday.

The New York State Education Department allowed schools to reschedule Regents exams. Normally students who miss their Regents have to wait for the next time an exam is given — in June. High school students need to pass certain Regents exams to graduate.

The state said schools must give all missed regents by the end of Friday.

“It was an unprecedented decision,” said Geraldine DeCarlo, Oceanside High School principal. “But great for our students who need these exams to graduate in June.”

Since all students statewide take the same exams, the state said each district had to develop a plan to keep all test materials secure. In Oceanside, all of the Regents were locked in the school safe and not released until 15 minutes before the exam time. A committee of teachers will score the exams.