The New York State Regents exams play a major role in determining whether students earn their high diplomas, yet for many students that need to retake the test they face a major obstacle long before that.
Students are not allowed to see which specific questions they answered incorrectly. Without access to their mistakes, students struggle to understand where they went wrong, what concepts they failed to master, or how to improve before attempting to retake the exam again. Exams are meant to measure learning, yet some rules make that goal harder to reach. When students are expected to improve without being shown what went wrong, the process becomes unclear and discouraging. It is like being asked to solve a puzzle without all the pieces.
Many students agree that feedback is essential for real improvement. Zeal Cielo, a junior, believes that knowing what went wrong is key to success. “It’s crucial to be aware of your mistakes, as clear feedback is the best way to excel,” Zeal said. She’s one of many students who believe incorrect answers would help them focus on what they truly struggle with instead of relearning everything from scratch. Zeal also pointed out that denying students access to their mistakes contradicts the right to education, which includes accessibility, availability, acceptability, and adaptability. If students are not allowed to see their errors, the system fails to adapt to their learning needs.
The lack of feedback makes preparing for a Regents retake especially challenging. Zeal shared that without knowing her mistakes, she’s forced to re-learn the entire year’s material, even topics she already understood. Tutoring and group review sessions often move at a pace that does not fit individual needs, and past Regents exams feel unhelpful when students cannot identify what they personally did wrong. “No feedback means a hard structure to learn,” Zeal said, comparing the process to “searching for Narnia.” Showing how the current system wastes students time and energy rather than guiding them toward improvement.
Similarly, sophomore Mythea Cadaweng believes that Regents exams should show students what they got right and wrong. She explained that “identifying specific weaknesses allows students to focus their studying and seek extra help where it is needed most.” Mythea noted that, “preparation would significantly improve if teachers could review mistakes with students after mock Regent’s exams.” Having teachers correct errors and explain skills needed for certain problem types helps students feel more prepared and confident for the actual test.
While Mythea acknowledged that “resources such as past Regent’s exams and scoring rubrics are helpful, they still do not replace personalized feedback.” These materials show how answers are graded. But they do not tell students which concepts they personally struggled with. Without that information, students are left guessing what to focus on, which can lead to frustration and ineffective studying.
All things considered, preventing students from seeing their Regents exam mistakes creates an unnecessary barrier to learning. Exams are meant to support improvement, yet without feedback students struggle to make progress. To ensure fairness and student success, New York State should allow students to review exam errors so learners can take clear and informed steps on how to retake the exam more effectively.
