Failed Regents Essay Portion

[Midnight Dream]

Ok, a quick bit of background here. Georgia (I say Georgia, because I am unsure if other states require this) requires that college students of certain majors take what is called the Regents Exam. It's a two part exam, consisting of a reading comprehension and essay portion.

Given that I achieved the score I did on the English portion of my SAT, I am not required to take the reading comprehension portion, however (being only about 10 points off) I was required to take the essay portion.

Now, I have always done well in my English courses. Never have I gotten anything below an 85 as the final average. So today when I see that I can pick up my Regents test results, I go casually, only to be completely blown away when I read the results.

Essay - 1 FAIL

The essay portion is graded by 3 people on a scale of 1 to 4. That's all I actually know about the grading portion, as most of the teachers are a bit leery to divulge much more. Throughout English 1101 and English 1102, when we were being grilled on the Regents practice essays, I never made below a 95. To go in and get the lowest of the low on my results is appalling to me. And even worse to me, in the way of my self-esteem, is that they are saying because I failed it I have to take a remedial class. I can appeal the results and it will be regraded, but I am unsure of if I should actually do that or not.

Not a good day at all for me.

[fabulouscoops]

New York has regent exams. (or they did when I was in school) While they are tough, anyone who can pass English with a B average should not get the lowest grade possible.

What was the topic? Some graders are very biased and will grade on content rather than style, grammar or spelling. For example, if you wrote that George Bush is your personal hero, and the board is all Democrats, then you may have been failed out of pettiness.

You seem to be a coherent writer so I would say appeal. You have nothing to lose and the upside is a restoration of your confidence and not having to take a remedial class.

Another thought. Maybe it was a mistake. The grader put 1 because they thought it was the highest grade instead of the lowest. They could get punchy after grading so many essays.

Good Luck

[seadave77]

If you have done well in your classes I would discuss your essay with your teacher. Let that guide your choice weather or not to appeal your grade.

I am in GA as well. I don't believe the system is all that interested in the welfare of students, just the lining of their pockets.

[Midnight Dream]

New York has regent exams. (or they did when I was in school) While they are tough, anyone who can pass English with a B average should not get the lowest grade possible.

What was the topic? Some graders are very biased and will grade on content rather than style, grammar or spelling. For example, if you wrote that George Bush is your personal hero, and the board is all Democrats, then you may have been failed out of pettiness.

You seem to be a coherent writer so I would say appeal. You have nothing to lose and the upside is a restoration of your confidence and not having to take a remedial class.

Another thought. Maybe it was a mistake. The grader put 1 because they thought it was the highest grade instead of the lowest. They could get punchy after grading so many essays.

Good Luck

The topic was not one which I believe could be biased in any way by the graders: "Do you think a secondary language should be a required course in high school?"

[mage_x]

When I was in high school and had to do those state essay exams, the teacher told us how they let anyone with any type of bachelor's degree grade the essays. And apparantly, one of the deciding factors in the grade was the use of the semi-colon. I guess it makes it look like you know what you're doing. My point is, don't get worked up over it because you have no idea who was grading it, and just take it again (if possible).

[sno.lcn]

I don't know if it's different between schools, but at Gerogia Perimete College the regents' is graded on a scale of 1-3 and you need at least a 2 to pass. If you don't pass, you have to take remedial english (ENGL 1098 maybe?) until you pass the regents.
I took it maybe a month or two ago and I'm pretty sure I got a 3 but possibly a 2, I haven't gotten my scores back yet. I wrote on the high divorce rate or something like that. It was pretty much a rewrite of a paper on the same topic I turned in last semester for ENLG 1101.
I'm transferring to FSC in the fall and they told me they don't have the regents' in Florida.