Jericho Union Free School District Board of Education trustees, school officials, parents, and educators voiced sharp criticism on Thursday, June 12, over this year’s newly implemented Earth Science Regents exam, calling it confusing, misaligned with the curriculum, and demoralizing for students.
The exam, one of two newly introduced science assessments based on updated New York State standards, left students feeling blindsided. Teachers and administrators said students were prepared for the material they were taught, but the test did not reflect it.
“Our kids were well prepared, what they weren’t prepared for was an exam that didn’t match the blueprint we were given,” said Assistant Superintendent Ivy Sherman. “There were a ton of things wrong with this exam. We are well aware of them.”
Sherman said its decision to opt into the updated version of the Earth Science Regents was based on the fact that current students had been learning under the new science standards since first grade. However, students reported encountering questions involving unfamiliar scientific scenarios and topics like environmental science, which were either not emphasized or not taught during the school year. Some students even noted Earth Science content on the Biology exam.
At the time of the meeting, the exam remained embargoed by the state for seven days, meaning the full contents of the test could not yet be publicly reviewed. Raw scores had been released, but the conversion scale used to calculate final grades from those raw scores was not yet available. Final results are expected by the end of June.
District officials expressed disappointment with the New York State Education Department and said they had not yet received responses to their inquiries.
“We plan to fight for our kids,” Sherman said. “We know how hard they worked. They were prepared. This was not their fault.”
Parents and board members echoed those sentiments, urging district leaders to formally communicate their concerns to the state and calling on other families to do the same. Several speakers referenced past issues with state testing rollouts, such as controversial questions in Grade 3–8 exams and the “pineapple question” that once drew national attention.
“This isn’t new,” one board member said. “Any time the state rolls out a new exam, the first version is often flawed. But it’s the kids who pay the price.”
Board president-elect Kenny Jin and a group of parents who wrote to the school delivered pointed remarks, criticizing the district’s decision to adopt the new version of the exam without first observing its rollout in other districts.
“This was preventable,” Jin said. “Why did we rush to adopt a new test before ensuring everything was aligned? Education should move with purpose, not pressure.”
They called for the state education department to invalidate or exclude this year’s exam scores from students’ final transcripts, implement a district-wide “no harm” grading policy, and require transparency and curriculum alignment before adopting future changes.
Although the board said teachers responded to student concerns and reassured them that their hard work was evident despite the flawed test, the emotional toll remains high. “This was not just a tough test, it was demoralizing,” said Trustee Jennifer Vartanov, whose child took the exam.
Officials noted that the state education department has, in the past, adjusted scores significantly when exams were found to be flawed. In some cases, students scoring as low as 50% on raw scores were granted passing or even high final grades due to statewide curves.
Still, many in the Jericho community said the issue goes beyond scoring.
“Our confidence in the state is broken,” said Vartanov.
Sherman pledged to send formal letters to the state, including the commissioner’s office and the Office of State Assessment, and encouraged parents to do the same. The board committed to sharing updates as soon as they become available and stressed that any future changes in curriculum or assessments will be evaluated more cautiously.
“This test didn’t just fail our students,” said Jin. “It failed our educators and our district’s values. But what matters now is how we respond. Not with silence, but with action.”
The board also honored 23 retirees from the Jericho School District. Of them, Superintendent Henry Grishman and Board of Trustees President Christopher Foresto.
Grishman spent the last 30 years as superintendent of Jericho School District and was honored by Nassau County Legislator Arnie Drucker, a representative from Tom Suozzi’s office, Senator Jack Martins, and many others.
Grishman said, “The Jericho family makes each and every one of us better at what we do… The Jericho family is what it is all about.”
