Sophie Grosserode is reporting for lohud [dot] com Interim State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa Thu., Nov. 5, announced the January Regents exams will be canceled because the tests cannot be administered safely and fairly. High school students who were scheduled to take Regents exams in January 2021 will receive the same exemptions that were granted for the June and August exams, which were also canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under normal circumstances, students must pass at least five Regents exams to earn a diploma. But with another round of the exams canceled, students taking Regents courses this semester will be eligible to get full credit for the course without taking the state exam.Instead of a numerical score, students’ transcripts will bear an “E” for exempt, according to a memo sent to district superintendents. “Throughout the pandemic our priority has been the health and wellbeing of our students and educators,” Rosa said in a statement. “We determined the January Regents Exams could not be safely, equitably and fairly administered across the state given where the pandemic currently stands.” A decision on the upcoming June and August Regents exams and the other state assessments administered in the spring, is still pending. In the case of the federally mandated standardized tests for students in grades 3 through 8, canceling the tests would mean applying for a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education. Read the full story at lohud [dot] com.