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Budget Cuts May Cut 13 Exams from High School Regents

By DNAinfo Staff on March 8, 2010 11:25am  | Updated on March 8, 2010 11:21am

State education officials will discuss proposals to cut 13 of the 17 Regents exams given to high school students to save money in the face of New York State's significant budget cuts.
State education officials will discuss proposals to cut 13 of the 17 Regents exams given to high school students to save money in the face of New York State's significant budget cuts.
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By Jennifer Glickel

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — New York State's financial crunch may lead state education officlals to eliminate 13 of the 17 high school Regents exams.

Officials will discuss ways to shed $13.7 million by potentially cutting exams entirely or by combining and replacing exams at the Regents committee meeting in Albany Monday night.

"It is important to note that no cuts have been proposed and no decisions have yet been made," the state's senior deputy education commissioner John King said in a statement.

"The Regents will simply be discussing various options at this time."

The potential to eliminate exams raises concerns about lowering graduation requirements for high school seniors. Under the current system, students have to pass five exams in order to graduate. To graduate with an advanced diploma, students must pass seven exams.

Exams that could be cut fall into the subject categories of geography, math, and foreign languages. There has also been talk of no longer translating exams into Chinese, Korean, Russian and Haitian Creole, according to the Associated Press. Translation into Spanish would remain.