The English Regents Test Reveals More than the SAT

By: Sean Savoie 

            The English Regents Exam beats the English section of the SAT simply because the Regents enables the evaluation of a student’s active and creative use of information. The ability of a person to make use of information is more important than to simply have information. Both tests measure the ability to clearly understand the meaning of a reading passage, to make inferences from the material given, and to utilize and comprehend vocabulary. However, the Regents demands creativity, which, with the exception of the essay section, is not measurable within the SAT.

            For those of you not familiar with the English Regents, you should know that it is divided into four parts, each of which is typically 90 minutes long. The first section involves listening to a passage that is read by an instructor, answering multiple choice questions regarding the reading, and writing an essay, article, or letter, depending on the task. Here lies the key! Students are presented with a certain situation, such as: “You are a high school student who is asked to give a short speech to a junior high school class about the dangers of cigarette smoking. After listening to the passage, write the speech you will present to these young students.”

            Because the goal of the essay involves not only understanding the written passage, but also creatively designing a speech specifically for younger students, the assignment clearly requires an extra element of creativity.

            The second section of the Regents, which entails comprehending and mentally organizing written material commonly in the form of a news magazine-style article and one or more charts, also requires creativity because a specific task is required, such as; “Prepare an article for a parent and teacher meeting explaining the problem of depression among today’s youth.” Nice!

            The third section requires that students respond to two different types of writing that both have a common theme. Students should point out how the passages are similar and/or different, as well as comment on the literary elements that both authors employ to express their ideas. This type of analysis of correlations and literary differences is essential for higher education, and is theoretically at the core of the American educational goal.

            The fourth, and often most dreaded, section of the Regents is the critical lens, which gives students an opportunity to prove their depth of perception, book-learned knowledge, and, again, comprehension of correlations of many sorts. The critical lens itself is usually a quote from a famous author regarding literature. This section of the Regents is intimidating to some students because it necessitates pulling together many aspects of the students’ intelligence based on what they have read in class or out of class. The critical lens usually focuses on one aspect of literature, again involving the cross-correlations needed to make more highly developed understanding possible.

            The true spirit of American education is reflected in Albert Einstein’s assertion that imagination is more important than intelligence. This is ever so true! In this modern age of computers, equations and calculations are easily accessed, yet a computer has not, and may never have, the imagination to reach beyond the available information for connections to yet undiscovered concepts. The human mind is vast and far beyond the computing powers of the strongest computers. This difference is crucial.

            Ironically, this difference was reflected in the essay section of the SAT this past week. The topic basically asserted that technology has made us more stupid. Such an essay topic is excellent because the answer is, of course, both yes and no. The irony is that computers have created a need among corporations and organizations for people with creative skills. Computers have made the human storage of information less necessary. Therefore, people with the skills to perform tasks that are beyond the reach of computers are more necessary in the workplace. The English Regents test requires an understanding that future computers would possibly never become able to calculate, whereas the problems of the SAT will eventually come within the capability of a computer.

            The fostering of creativity has made this nation powerful and progressive. Let us all hope that further advancement in our educational system continues to encourage this type of educational growth.