At the start of the 2023-2024 school year, the Lynbrook Board of Education (BOE) proposed a “Do No Harm” policy. This policy, now enacted, takes away the value of the New York State Regents Exam given to students every June. Essentially, if a student scores a grade on the Regents that is lower than his/her overall average for that respective class, the Regents exam does not affect his/her overall grade for the year. If a student scores higher on the exam than his/her average for that class, one point one point will be added to his/her yearly average.
In the past, Regents exams accounted for as much as 20% of a student’s final grade; this was decreased to 10% in more recent years. With this new policy, the Regents exam does not potentially carry any weighting on a student’s final grade for the year. This policy is good for many reasons. One reason this is a good policy is that it puts students at an advantage compared to other students from different school districts when applying to college. If two students from different school districts take the Regents exam, and they both score lower than their yearly average on that test, then it would lower the student’s average from the school that does not implement this policy. When college admissions review an application, a student’s transcript does not indicate whether or not the Regents exam is factored into the final grade for a course.
When asked about why this policy was implemented, BOE member Andrew Lewner said, “The reason that the Board raised the issue of how to count Regents exam grades was because other competing school districts had changed their grading policies. A number of Board members, parents, and students were concerned that by counting Regents exams as we were, our students would be at a competitive disadvantage against students from other districts when applying for college. Those of us who were in favor of making this change felt that it is critical that we give Lynbrook students every possible advantage. Ultimately, we feel that the proposal that was advanced by the building principals balanced the real concerns raised by some of the classroom teachers with the concerns raised by students and parents.”
Students are very busy throughout the year. Studying for AP and honors classes, playing sports, participating in clubs, and completiting community service are all aspects of a high school student’s life. Many high schoolers are stressed when it comes to applying to college, taking the ACT/SATs, and, of course, taking the Regents exams at the end of the year. Teenagers already have a very stressful life, so by taking away the value of the Regents exam, students would not have to worry about putting in so many hours to study, and this will alleviate some pressure for them.
Overall, I think this new change can have both good and bad consequences for LHS.”
— Kate Santoli, Class of 2025
When asked for her opinon on this new policy, junior Kate Santoli said, “The new ‘Do No Harm’ policy is that a student has to get a higher score on a Regents exam than their yearly average in order to raise their average one point. In some ways, I think the new policy helps students who may have lower averages, but on the other hand, for students who have higher averages, it might be hard to earn a higher score on the Regents than their average, and, therefore, the Regents will not help at all. Overall, I think this new change can have both good and bad consequences for LHS.”
When asked about what the policy means to him, Principal Matthew Sarosy said, “The building practice that we are implementing is not a ‘Do No Harm’ policy. It takes an incentive-based approach to the Regents exam, instead of the negative connotations that a ‘Do No Harm’ policy has. For all classes ending in a Regents exam, each quarter will count as 25%. A yearly average will be calculated in June. If a student does better (one point or higher) on a course’s Regents exam, one point will be added to the yearly average.”
Being that this option was originally Principal Sarosy’s idea, when asked about how he was able to formulate it, he said, “New York State is continuing to place less emphasis on the Regents exams, and they recommend that schools do not count them towards a student’s course average. The goal of this practice is to keep students engaged to the end of the year, and incentivizing the exams is a way to do that.”
However, others have a different opinion on the new policy and think that it should not have been implemented. President of the Lynbrook Teachers Association (LTA) and English teacher Craig Kirchenberg said, “Some teachers are concerned that this new practice is simply inflating grades and is not a true representation of a student’s average.” Kirchenberg added, “[This policy] potentially sends the wrong message about accountability of only incentivizing students if they do well and not holding them accountable if they don’t do well…[The policy] is a danger of reducing true accountability, and that might affect students’ performance.”
Overall, this policy change is both necessary and positive for LHS students. It eliminates unnecessary stress, takes pressure off of students’ already full plates, and within the college admissions process it gives students a fair playing field against those from other districts.
