Barrons Regents -- Student Tutorial

CREATE YOUR PROFILE

• You must now create a user profile. Click in each field and enter the appropriate data. Be sure to enter a new user name and password at this time. Use something that you will remember. When the profile form is complete, click "Create Profile". Your personal menu or "Home Page" will appear.
  
  
• If for any reason you need to change you personal information with us, such as a home address or e-mail address change, use " Update Profile/Change Password" to update our database. This is important in the event that we need to contact you or verify your information should you require technical support.

CREATING A PRACTICE EXAM

• This is where you get to select Regents questions by exam date or Topic for practicing the NYS Regents exams. Click "Prepare Exam for Practice Area". Now you can select a Regents course from the pull-down list and click either "I want to take a specific Regents Exam" or "I want to create an exam by Topic."
  
  
  • Selecting, "I want to take a specific Regents Exam" will allow you to take one part of an actual Regents exam. The exams are broken down into "parts," or sections on BarronsRegents.com just as they are on the actual Regents exams. Taking one part at a time will allow you to better concentrate on how these exams are given and learn from any weak areas that you may have. This will also help you get used to the way the different parts of a Regents exam are constructed.
    
    
    • Read the descriptions of the different parts of the Regents exam and select one for preparation. Note: you can only select ONE part of a Regents exam to practice at any one time. Now click "Next" to continue.
      
      
    • Once you select an exam part, the next screen will ask you to select an exam date and give the exam a name. Under the "test dates available" drop-down listing, you will see all of the available exam dates ready for testing. (Occasionally you may see "MT" in this area which stands for "Model Test." This refers to the sample tests the Board of Regents distributes to schools when changes are made to the format of an exam so students and teachers can see what the new exam will look like prior to actually taking the exam.
    
    
  • Selecting "I want to create an exam by Topic," allows you to further hone your skills by creating an exam consisting of questions from specific Topics within the selected course.
  
  
  • The next screen may display a list of "Units" for the course you've selected. The subject matter for certain courses is divided into Units. Each Unit is then subdivided into related Topics. For example, under U.S. History you will find a Unit for "Industrialization." One of the Topics within this Unit is "Rise of Business, Industry, and Labor". Select the Unit which most closely relates to your area of interest and click "Next" to go on to see the corresponding list of Topics.
    
    
  • If you don't see the exact Topic of interest, select the ones that most closely match. You select Topics by clicking on the checkbox next to each. You can uncheck a box by clicking it again.
    
    
  • Next choose the maximum number of questions you'd like for each of the topics you've selected. Your practice exam will be created with as many questions under each topic as can be found in the database up to the maximum number you've set here.
    
    
  • Please remember that the NYS Board of Regents usually gives only a small number of questions for each topic in any particular exam, especially when there are many topics for a particular subject or unit. Therefore, there may be instances when your results will be less than 5 questions. (You should remember that your exam is made of questions from only one part of the Regents exams. To see more questions from your chosen topic(s), create additional exams from the other exam parts.)
  
  
  • Now you need to give your exam a unique name. Highlight the word "(none)" by clicking and dragging your mouse over it and type an exam name such as, "My First Exam", and click the "Submit" button. This will place the exam in your practice area and send you back to your Home Page.
    (Try to remember to give each exam you create a unique name that you will remember, because leaving each exam with the default name "none" will get confusing!)
    
    
  • A maximum of 5 exams can be stored under the heading "Ready to Practice". If you create an exam and you later decide you don't want to take it, you can click "Delete Exam From Practice Area" to remove the exam.
    
    

TAKING AN EXAM

• From your Home Page, click "Practice a Prepared Exam" to start an exam. A table appears with the names of the exams you've already created or those created and assigned by your teacher (if you're part of a Classroom account) within your practice area. If you have not yet created a practice exam, goto Creating A Practice Exam to see how. Remember that exams will remain in this practice area until they are either graded or deleted by you. Exams created by your teacher cannot be deleted and therefore must be completed and Graded to remove them from the Practice Area. Click on the name of the exam you wish to practice now.
  
  
• You will then be taken to the Exam Console. A list of all exam questions appears in the Question List on the left.
  
  
• The first question appears in the question area towards the middle of the screen. Depending upon the "part" of the Regents exam you have selected, you will have a few different ways to answer a question:
  
  
  • Multiple-Choice Questions: For these questions, you would simply click on the radio button next to your answer, then click .
    
    
  • Short Answer Questions: These questions will have a text box where you will be expected to type in an answer. Answers will be less than 20 characters in length and SPELLING AND LETTER CASE DO MATTER! Math questions will usually have a special "NOTE:" to indicate what form the answer should be typed in as. Again, click when you're ready for the next question.
    
    
  • Extended-Response Questions: These are questions that will expect you to perform an extended math equation, draw on a graph, etc. You are expected to answer these questions on a separate sheet of paper^* then click to continue on to the next question.
    A note on grading: Because it is impossible to have an exact match between your answer for a question like this and a pre-written answer in our database, we cannot grade these questions. When you're finished with your practice exam, you can compare your answer with the one we supply.
  • Essay Questions: Essay questions are included as part of the Global Studies, U.S. History, and English exams. While the Global and U.S. History essays should be written on a separate piece of paper, a "text box" is available for the English essays to allow you to type your essay directly on the screen and have it saved along with your other exam answers. When you've completed your English essay or just want to save it and come back later, be sure to click under the text box. Leaving the screen without clicking "Submit Essay" will cause you to lose anything you've written. None of these essays can be graded for you but a scoring guide (Rubric) is included to give you a sense of what the graders are looking for when scoring your essays. To access these Rubrics click on and select the scoring rubric appropriate for the type of essay you're writing.
  
  
  
• As you answer each multiple-choice or short answer question, the questions' status icon (on the left side of the screen) will change from a to a to help you keep track of what has been answered and not answered. For extended-response questions, the question status icon will change from a to to indicate you are finished with that question.
  
  
• You can continue to answer questions, one by one, in the same order as they appear in the leftside question list and the next unanswered question will be displayed in the question area.
  
  
• To answer a question out of sequence, simply click on that question directly in the Question List. In this manner, you can skip around to any question that you wish including questions you've already answered, but once you answer that question you will be brought back to the FIRST UNANSWERED QUESTION in the question list.
  
  A note on question numbering: When you are taking a Regents exam by date, the numbering system will reflect the actual numbering used on the Regents exam. Therefore if you are taking Part III of a particular exam, the numbering may start off with question number "50," etc. When you choose exam questions by topic, they will be numbered from "1" through the number of questions on the exam that you have created.
  
  
• You also have the option of "Flagging a Question for Review." When taking the exam, you can click on the box marked, "Remind me to check this question later." This will mark the question on the left with a to remind you to check this question later before grading or completing the exam. Later, when attempting to grade the exam, you will notified that you still have question(s) flagged for review. You have the choice of reviewing these questions and changing your response, leaving your response as is, or ignoring the warning and re-clicking or .
  
  
• You have the option of automatically refreshing your Question List each time you get a new question or only refreshing the question area. Refreshing the Question List will keep you updated on which questions you've already answered or flagged for review. Turning refresh off will display each question faster, especially if the Internet is experiencing heavy traffic or if you have a slower connection.
  Use the or buttons in the lower left-hand corner of the screen to change this option.
  
  
• : If you selected a course that uses reference tables, a reference table button will appear at the bottom of the screen to the right of the Print button. You may click it at any time to display a pop up window containing a listing of all reference tables the NYS Board of Regents allows for the actual exams. Clicking again on the name of a particular table will show that specific table in another pop up window. When you are finished, you may simply close these table windows and continue on with your exam. You may open a reference table at any time during your exam.
  
  
• When you have finished answering all of the questions you can click on either or at the bottom of the screen, depending on the type of questions involved. Take care of any questions still "Flagged" at this time if you have any. You may now go on to examining your report card for graded questions and/or reviewing the answers and explanations for both the graded questions and non-graded questions. (see below)
  
  
• Once you've completed an exam it is placed in your "Exam Library" where you can review your Report Card for the exam or view and/or print all the exam questions. To access your "Exam Library" click on that link from your Home page.

GRADING YOUR WORK AND VIEW YOUR REPORT CARD

• When you are satisfied with all of your answers, click at the bottom of the screen. You will receive your grade for this exam.
  
  
• For a more detailed look at your exam results, click on the to see a list of questions and answers.
  
  
• The table at the top of the report card lists the Topics on the test, and the percent correct for each Topic. Below this is a table with an analysis of each question, as well as a scoring key:

  indicates you answered the question correctly.
  indicates your choice was incorrect.
  
  indicates that you did not answer the question, and is considered incorrect.

• By clicking on any question you can see the answer and its explanation. (see below)
  
  
• Finally, statistics are provided which show the percentage of all students in the database who missed each question.

• This type of question cannot be graded by the system so you should write your answer down on a separate sheet of paper for comparison to the correct answers given to you when you've completed your exam.
• When you're finished with a question click .

• Essay questions are included as part of the Global Studies, U.S. History, and English exams. While the Global and U.S. History essays should be written on a separate piece of paper, a "text box" is available for the English essays to allow you to type your essay directly on the screen and have it saved along with your other exam answers. These essays cannot be graded for you but a scoring guide (Rubric) is included to give you a sense of what the graders are looking for when scoring your essays. To access these Rubrics click on and select the scoring rubric appropriate for the type of essay you're writing.
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VIEWING ANSWER EXPLANATIONS

• This is possibly the most valuable section of BarronsRegents.com. When you are viewing your report card and click on the underlined text of a question for more detail, the question will appear on its own page along with an explanation of the correct answer as well as (if available) an analysis of why the other choices are incorrect. These explanations appear in our Barrons Regents Exams and Answers review books and come from experts and acclaimed teachers in each field of study. If you were incorrect in your answer, always check here to find out why to avoid the mistake again. Even if you were correct (or guessed) come here to reinforce your understanding of the Topic.
  
  
• When you are finished with the report card, you can return to your Home Page by clicking on the Home button on the left side of the screen.
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PRINTING YOUR PRACTICE QUIZ

• You are able to print out a copy of the exam questions at any time while you're on the exam console. First click the at the bottom of the screen. Your test is now formatted for printing in a NEW window.
  
  
• To print this exam, simply click on the print button in your Internet browser or select FILE, then PRINT from the browser's drop down menus.
  
  
• To print an exam you've already completed, click on Personal Exam Library. From there you may select any of your past practice exams and print them for review.
• Occasionally, some printers, when encountering an image within a question near the bottom of a page, will split the image between that page and the next one or not print the image at all. This can be especially troublesome with math questions, many of which are all image and no text. To solve this problem, after you've formatted the exam for printing by clicking , copy and paste the entire test into a WORD document and insert page breaks where necessary.
  
  
• Close this browser window and return to the test taking console.


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EVALUATE YOUR PROGRESS

• BarronsRegents.com keeps track of what questions you've been shown and whether you answered them correctly or incorrectly. When creating an exam by Topic and enough questions are still available in the database, you will not be given a question you've already answered correctly.
  
  
• To check on your Regents review progress, click on "Evaluate My Progress" from your Home Page. You will be shown a list of courses for which you've completed practice exams.
  
  
• Selecting a course and clicking on "Create Report", displays a bar graph showing your performance for each Topic within the course.
  
  
• If you are using Internet Explorer, you can hold your mouse over each bar and see the percent correct and the total number of questions.
  
  
• Clicking on a bar will display another bar graph showing the results by exam for this Topic.
  
  
• Clicking on one of these bars will display the results by question for this exam, similar to your report card you see for an exam.


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CHANGING YOUR LOGIN AND PASSWORD

• Never give your password to anyone. If you need to change your password for one reason or another click on "Update Profile/Change Password " from your Home Page. Highlight your old password, type your new password, confirm the new password, and click "Submit" at the bottom of the screen. Any changes made by you will not take affect until you click "Submit".
  
  
• If you forget your username or password, click on "FORGOT LOGIN INFO" on the login screen. Your login information will be emailed to you within one business day.




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The following applies only to students who are subscribed through a Classroom account or who have BarronsRegents.com teacher subscribers in their school and have been instructed by those teachers to register for a class created by a teacher.

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REGISTER FOR CLASSES

(do this step only if your teacher instructs you to do so)
• From your Home Page, click on "My Classes". If this is your first time here, it will show that you are not registered for any classes yet.
  
  
• Click on "Register for a Class". From the list of teacher-created classes in your school, select the class you would like to register for.
  
  
• Click on the "Register" button and you will be returned to your Home Page.
  
  
• If you register for a class by mistake, you can click "My Classes" anytime from your menu and delete the class from your list by clicking on " DROP a Class".
  
  
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TEACHER ASSIGNED EXAMS

• You must be registered for that teacher's class (see above) in order to take an exam assigned to it.
  
  
• Teacher assigned exams are those made by teachers for online classes they've created. These exams usually have a due date, so check back often to see if you have any waiting for you.
  
  
• If your teacher assigns an exam to a particular class, you can take it by clicking on "Take a Teacher Assigned Exam" from your Home Page. You will see a list of exams assigned to the class. To begin taking an exam, clikc on the exam title.
  
  
• If you choose not to start the exam at this time, click on at the bottom of the exam console screen to return to your Home Page. Selecting an assigned exam places it in your practice area, so remember that you are allowed only 5 exams there at any one time. Once added to your practice area, teacher-assigned CANNOT BE DELETED! They must be completed before they will be removed and added to your exam library.
  
  

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You should now have a good understanding of navigating around and using barronsregents.com. If you have any further questions, please call or e-mail us below.

And, of course...

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR REGENTS EXAMS!!!



Email any questions to HelpDesk@barronseduc.com Or contact us at 1-800-645-3476.