Spring Break
Regents' Test requirements worry some
Jenny Marshall
Issue date: 9/15/08 Section: News
Scoring the third highest on the Regents Test out of Georgia's 35 public colleges and universities is an honor GSC holds close to its heart. But the new requirements passed by the Board of Regents last spring comes a fear that those rankings may drop in the upcoming year.
"It's a tough test for students to take," said Dede deLaughter, coordinator of academic support. Yet GSC managed to stay among the top three, following UGA and Georgia Tech, last year. "The Regents Test is a standardized test that the University System of Georgia requires for students to demonstrate their proficiency in reading and writing around the curriculum," deLaughter said. The new conditions for the test, effective this fall, require freshmen to take the test during the same semester of English 1101. In the past, students were able to take the test any time before they reached 30 hours.
deLaughter is hopeful that these new requirements will provide motivation for students to take their studies more seriously though she is "not sure if students are going to take the leap."
The format remains the same except for one minor change in grading. Any student who takes the test and receives a "low-fail" on the exam in either essay or reading will automatically be placed in a remediation class.
deLaughter said that many people are skeptical of the new system, herself included. She believes that this change is "taking our valuable tax money to hire remediation teachers instead of say a literature teacher."
Those students who have yet to take the test and are beyond their English 1101 course requirements will suffer no penalties. Once a student reaches 30-44 hours an e-mail will be sent reminding students to take the test.
Those students who do not take the test will have a registration hold on their account, preventing them from registering on Banner Web until the Regents' Preparation course is completed.
"It's a tough test for students to take," said Dede deLaughter, coordinator of academic support. Yet GSC managed to stay among the top three, following UGA and Georgia Tech, last year. "The Regents Test is a standardized test that the University System of Georgia requires for students to demonstrate their proficiency in reading and writing around the curriculum," deLaughter said. The new conditions for the test, effective this fall, require freshmen to take the test during the same semester of English 1101. In the past, students were able to take the test any time before they reached 30 hours.
deLaughter is hopeful that these new requirements will provide motivation for students to take their studies more seriously though she is "not sure if students are going to take the leap."
The format remains the same except for one minor change in grading. Any student who takes the test and receives a "low-fail" on the exam in either essay or reading will automatically be placed in a remediation class.
deLaughter said that many people are skeptical of the new system, herself included. She believes that this change is "taking our valuable tax money to hire remediation teachers instead of say a literature teacher."
Those students who have yet to take the test and are beyond their English 1101 course requirements will suffer no penalties. Once a student reaches 30-44 hours an e-mail will be sent reminding students to take the test.
Those students who do not take the test will have a registration hold on their account, preventing them from registering on Banner Web until the Regents' Preparation course is completed.
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