They needed an instruction manual to take these tests.
This week, the state teachers union acknowledged complaints from students, parents, and educators regarding this year’s new biology and earth science regents exams. These exams were criticized for not covering topics taught in class and instead featuring “truly traumatic” questions related to geology and chemistry.
“We received numerous reports from our members indicating that this year’s Biology and Earth Science exams included topics and questions that were unexpected and not part of the curriculum,” said NYSUT President Melinda Person.
“When tests don’t align with these standards, it creates confusion, undermines confidence, and is unfair to students and educators alike.”
The newly introduced state-administered tests, “Life Science: Biology” and “Earth and Space Science,” have replaced the former “Living Environment” and “Physical Setting/Earth Science” exams.
The NYSUT, a federation of more than 1,200 local unions, posted some of the complaints about the exams to their X account Thursday, including one from an anonymous educator who said giving the earth science exam this year was “truly traumatic.”
“This test doesn’t teach kids to love science, it taught them that if they are a good reader and can work fast then they passed,” according to the educator.
Others weren’t so lucky.
“Many students did not complete the exam and tried their absolute hardest and worked until the final seconds,” the teacher wrote. “There were tears and heartache.
“That’s not school. That’s torture.”
Another educator who oversaw the biology exam claimed “multiple” students in their accelerated class were unable to finish.
“I have never not a had a student finish the test,” the teacher wrote to NYSUT. “Even with the reduced questions the reading load was too much.”
And the earth science test was no cake walk either. A Queens teacher who proctored the exam said it included a heavy focus on reading comprehension.
“For the first time, I saw a classroom of 30 kids take the entire three hours to take this test, and afterward they were like, ‘What the heck?” the educator, who asked for anonymity, told The Post.
“I would argue they were not prepared. I’ve never seen students take that long on a test.”
But his daughter, a student on Long Island, didn’t take the same exam as the students he proctored in Queens.
“I don’t know if city schools were the guinea pig, and I don’t know if city schools had a choice,” he said.
Last month, kids took to TikTok to point out that the tests they’d just taken weren’t on what they studied.
“What the actual f–k was that biology regents,” complained one New York teen, likening it to the earth science Regents he took the year before. “Why was there EROSION AND SAND DUNES? …. Where the flip was meiosis, mitosis, mitochondria, reproduction, homeostasis.”
“POV: Me after flipping every single page of the 2025 bio regents just to see NOTHING THAT WE LEARNED FOR 10 MONTHS,” exclaimed another kid on TikTok.
But outrage over the tests is misplaced, said David C. Bloomfield, an education professor at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center.
“The whole testing culture has made people feel betrayed if the exam doesn’t exactly reflect the published curriculum,” said Bloomfield. “The system is designed for kids to do well on the exam so everyone looks good.
“As a result, anything students are not thoroughly prepared for is viewed as unfair.”
The Board of Regents did not return a request for comment.
