Committee announces new guidelines for New York state's Ukrainian exam (03/21/99)

Committee announces new guidelines for New York state's Ukrainian exam

by Oksana Bakum

ALBANY, N.Y. - The Committee for Preparation of Ukrainian Sample Comprehensive Examination (CPUSCE) in the State of New York announces to high school students, their parents and Ukrainian studies school teachers that, beginning with this school year, the exam and the opportunity to obtain three credits toward the Regents foreign language requirement, remains in effect.

However, there are major procedural changes. From 1976 until the present, committees of teachers of languages that are not usually taught at American high schools prepared yearly exams (Sample Comprehensive Examinations) in a given language, in collaboration with and under the supervision of the State Education Department. The department would send these exams, in six languages, to schools requesting them, where qualified teachers would administer and evaluate them.

The State Education Department has now decided not to maintain these exams under its aegis. Responsibility for administering these exams now lies with the ethnic community school. The preparation of the exams rests with either the committees already in place, or is passed on to the Saturday school teachers. Application formalities with the student's high school are to be completed by a student and his/her Saturday school teacher. The final decision to give permission for taking such an exam - and granting the resulting Regents credit for a foreign language - rests solely with the high school authorities.

The details of this new directive were not worked out for a long period of time, and neither the exam committees nor high school principals and guidance counselors received formal notification until the beginning of March.

Students interested in taking the Ukrainian language exam this year must be aware of the following conditions:

their high school level cannot be lower than grade 11;
their course requirements for obtaining their high school diploma must be met;
the Ukrainian exam cannot serve as a substitute for any exam in a required subject;
all decisions on the above-mentioned considerations are made by the high school authorities.

Students need to complete three years of Ukrainian studies on the upper level; their weekly language sessions, which may include classes in literature, history and/or culture, should be no less than three hours.

A student should obtain the following forms from his/her high school office:

Application for Regents Credit for Foreign Language Studied Outside of the Regular High School;
Student Profile (New York State Education Department Guidelines for Granting Regents Credit).

These forms must be filled out by the Saturday school teacher and mailed, as soon as possible, to the high school which the student is attending. All language exams are given in the middle of June, but formalities are completed well in advance.

Generally speaking, students applying for this exam should demonstrate the level of competency in the literary Ukrainian language that is comparable to the New York state standard, so-called Checkpoint B. Those who have completed the upper level of Ukrainian studies should not have any problems passing this exam. In its format, the exam corresponds exactly to all the Regents exams in foreign languages.

Saturday school teachers must fill out two application forms for the applying student, and forward them to his/her high school. The CPUSCE will continue preparing the Ukrainian language exam, in accordance with all state requirements. Upon teachers' requests, the committee will mail the complete exam to them to be administered at their school.

According to the new directive from the State Education Department, the community Saturday schools have two choices: they may use the exam prepared by the CPUSCE or they can construct it themselves, observing all the state standards. This exam must then be evaluated by an independent qualified person, and certification must be presented to the student's school office.

The State Education Department will mail interested Saturday school teachers the Ukrainian exam of 1998, which can be used as a sample for structuring their own test. Also, the oral test topics of previous years (these are instructions in English only, applicable to all the Regents exams), should be requested; they can be used as they are.

To ask for the Sample Comprehensive Examination in Ukrainian and Oral Test topics, write to: Office of State Assessment, R. 760 EBA, State Education Department, Albany, NY 12234.

Obviously, at this late date, it would not be possible for Saturday school teachers to set up this exam without sufficient, advance notice. Therefore, for the benefit of interested students, the CPUSCE will mail the exam at the end of May upon request from Saturday school teachers. It is emphasized that all the indicated formalities must be taken care of by students and their community teachers. Requests (please enclose $5 for printing and mailing) should be addressed to: Oksana Bakum, 18 Orchard Lane, Highland, NY 12528.

These changes do not apply to the accredited, parochial, Ukrainian high schools where the Ukrainian language is taught; at such schools tests and grades proceed in the usual manner.

Oksana Bakum is coordinator of the Committee for Preparation of Ukrainian Sample Comprehensive Examination.

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