Helen Leshinsky
Why are Regents exams important? You need to pass the Regents in order to graduate! Some common mistakes students make when it comes to preparation are not preparing because they don’t care enough, or don’t know how, or freaking out and avoiding thinking about the Regents because it’s a source of stress. Combat your Regents anxiety by preparing the right way! We asked some experienced AMS teachers to give us some tips.
Tips for preparing for regents:
Prepare by studying! A lot of us are stressed by the thought of taking the Regents, so we avoid thinking about it. But this is a mistake. If entire practice tests seems overwhelming, practice just two pages a day, or 30 minutes a day. The more you prepare, the less stress you will experience the day of the exam.
Practice problems that are difficult. Ms. Garcia, a math teacher, said, “Practice past Regents questions. Normally, they can get those from their teachers and also to practice the tricks that they know on the calculator to go ahead and check their work.
Take care of your physical needs the day of the exam. Mr, Chodan, who has a stellar track record of preparing students for the Regents, said, “Getting a good night’s sleep. Not being stressed out, getting there on time. Like, the worst thing you can do for the Regents is go in there tired and hungry and late because that will almost always set you up for a bad situation.”
Use good time management during the test. Mr. Chodan also said, “One of the big things is time management, because there’s three different sections. There’s a multiple choice section, and there’s two writing segments. A long essay and a shorter essay or shorter writing response. And students really need to budget their time so they have enough.”
Try not to let anxiety take over. Ms. Garcia said, “Students can feel a little bit of anxiety because it’s a long test. It can take up to three hours. So that can also get in their head. Sometimes they’ll see the questions that they know the answer to, but if there’s too many words, they’ll get a little bit of anxiety.” Be confident in your skills and recognize this is not life or death; you can always retake the exam.
Taking Regents exams can be stressful, but if you implement some of these tips, I bet you’ll be successful in these upcoming weeks.
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