New York’s new science Regents ask for a smaller share of the paper
The State is retiring three science examinations and replacing them one by one. On the most recent chart of each, a 65 on the incoming exam took 15 percentage points less of the paper than on the exam it replaces — and in Physical Setting: Chemistry the gap is 15 points wide. We read all 80 conversion charts of the six exams to get these figures; NYSED publishes the charts, not the comparison.
A share of the paper is the only figure that compares across the changeover. The outgoing exams are marked out of 85. The incoming ones are marked out of 45 to 50, and that total changes from one sitting to the next.
What a 65 costs, most recent chart of each
The 3 changeovers, side by side
| Exam | Status | Latest chart | 65 takes | Share of the paper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Setting: Chemistry | last sitting June 2027 | August 2026 | 50 of 85 | 58.8% |
| Physical Science: Chemistry | from June 2026 | August 2026 | 21 of 48 | 43.8% |
| Physical Setting: Physics | last sitting June 2027 | June 2026 | 50 of 85 | 58.8% |
| Physical Science: Physics | from June 2026 | June 2026 | 23 of 50 | 46% |
| Living Environment | ended June 2026 | June 2026 | 40 of 85 | 47.1% |
| Life Science: Biology | from June 2025 | August 2026 | 20 of 48 | 41.7% |
Physical Setting: Chemistry → Physical Science: Chemistry
Both exams are being set right now. NYSED’s schedule puts the last Physical Setting: Chemistry administration at June 2027, and the charts show them running together from June 2026. A student sitting science this year may be entered for either one, and the paper in front of them decides which chart their raw score belongs to — the two are not interchangeable.
Outgoing
Physical Setting: Chemistry
30 published charts, June 2014 to August 2026. A 65 took between 57.6% and 60% of the paper across them, and 50 of 85 raw points on the most recent. The paper has been marked out of 85 throughout.
Incoming
Physical Science: Chemistry
2 published charts, June 2026 to August 2026. A 65 took between 42% and 43.8% of the paper across them, and 21 of 48 raw points on the most recent. The paper itself has been marked out of 50, then 48, so the number of questions is not a fixed target.
The gap, stated plainly: on the latest chart of each, a 65 on Physical Science: Chemistry took 15 percentage points less of the paper than on Physical Setting: Chemistry (43.8% against 58.8%). What that gap is not: a statement that the new exam is easier to answer. It is what the two conversion charts demand, read side by side.
Physical Setting: Physics → Physical Science: Physics
Both exams are being set right now. NYSED’s schedule puts the last Physical Setting: Physics administration at June 2027, and the charts show them running together from June 2026. A student sitting science this year may be entered for either one, and the paper in front of them decides which chart their raw score belongs to — the two are not interchangeable.
Outgoing
Physical Setting: Physics
10 published charts, June 2015 to June 2026. A 65 took between 56.5% and 58.8% of the paper across them, and 50 of 85 raw points on the most recent. The paper has been marked out of 85 throughout.
Incoming
Physical Science: Physics
One published chart, June 2026. A 65 took 23 of 50 raw points — 46% of the paper. One chart is a fact about one sitting and nothing more; we are not calling it a curve.
The gap, stated plainly: on the latest chart of each, a 65 on Physical Science: Physics took 12.8 percentage points less of the paper than on Physical Setting: Physics (46% against 58.8%). What that gap is not: a statement that the new exam is easier to answer. It is what the two conversion charts demand, read side by side.
Living Environment → Life Science: Biology
Living Environment had its final administration in June 2026. Life Science: Biology had already been running alongside it since June 2025, so the two charts overlap on the June 2025 to June 2026 sittings. From now on there is one exam, and it is the new one.
Outgoing
Living Environment
32 published charts, June 2014 to June 2026. A 65 took between 47.1% and 48.2% of the paper across them, and 40 of 85 raw points on the most recent. The paper has been marked out of 85 throughout.
Incoming
Life Science: Biology
5 published charts, June 2025 to August 2026. A 65 took between 40.8% and 46.7% of the paper across them, and 20 of 48 raw points on the most recent. The paper itself has been marked out of 48, then 45, then 49, so the number of questions is not a fixed target.
The gap, stated plainly: on the latest chart of each, a 65 on Life Science: Biology took 5.4 percentage points less of the paper than on Living Environment (41.7% against 47.1%). What that gap is not: a statement that the new exam is easier to answer. It is what the two conversion charts demand, read side by side.
What these figures will not tell you
Three things we will not say
- That the new exam is easier. A conversion chart is the last step of a scoring process, after the questions have been written and the paper marked. A smaller share of the paper for a 65 can mean a kinder chart or a harder paper. We publish the chart, not a verdict on the questions.
- What the next chart will demand. Physical Science: Chemistry has 2 charts and Physical Science: Physics has one chart. That is not enough to project anything, and the raw total is still moving. Nothing here is extrapolated forward.
- Which exam a student should sit. During the overlap that is decided by the course the school teaches and the school’s own entry, not by which chart looks kinder. If you want to know what a given result opens, the diploma requirements checker takes the exams actually passed and reads the State’s rules against them.
Where these figures come from
80 official conversion charts published by New York State Education Department (NYSED), Office of State Assessment, one spreadsheet per administration, read exactly as printed. For each one we take the lowest raw score whose published scale score reaches 65 and divide it by that chart’s own raw total. The end dates are not our inference from a missing file — a chart only ever exists after a sitting, so silence proves nothing — they come from the State’s implementation schedule for the new Regents examinations. Last verified September 7, 2026.
- The 65 and 85 lines for every exam and every sitting (CSV)
- NYSED — Physical Science: Chemistry, August 2026 chart
- NYSED — Physical Science: Physics, June 2026 chart
- NYSED — Life Science: Biology, August 2026 chart
The twelve-year series for each exam taken on its own is on the Regents difficulty pages, and the sitting-by-sitting tables are on the Regents score calculator.
The changeover, answered straight
Is the new science Regents easier than the old one?
It asks for a smaller share of the paper. On the most recent published chart of each, a 65 took 43.8% of the Physical Science: Chemistry paper against 58.8% of the Physical Setting: Chemistry paper, 46% of the Physical Science: Physics paper against 58.8% of the Physical Setting: Physics paper, 41.7% of the Life Science: Biology paper against 47.1% of the Living Environment paper. That is a measured difference in what the conversion chart demands, which is not the same thing as the exam being easier to sit: the papers are shorter, the questions are different, and two sittings of a new exam are not a trend.
Can my child still take the old exam?
Yes, for now, in Physical Setting: Chemistry and Physical Setting: Physics. NYSED's implementation schedule sets June 2027 as the last administration, with the new exam running alongside until then. Which one a student sits is decided by the course the school teaches and by the school, not by which curve looks kinder.
Does a score on the old exam still count?
Yes. A Regents result already on the transcript keeps the standing it had when it was earned; an exam ending does not unmake results already recorded. What changes is which chart you read it against — use the chart for the exact sitting, not the most recent one.
How many raw points does a 65 take on the new exams?
Physical Science: Chemistry: 21 of 48 on the August 2026 chart; Physical Science: Physics: 23 of 50 on the June 2026 chart; Life Science: Biology: 20 of 48 on the August 2026 chart. The raw total itself moves from sitting to sitting on these exams — Physical Science: Chemistry has been set out of 50, 48 and Life Science: Biology has been set out of 48, 45, 49 — so a fixed number of questions is the wrong thing to aim at.
Where do these figures come from?
From the 80 conversion charts NYSED published for these six exams, one spreadsheet per administration. For each chart we read the lowest raw score whose published scale score reaches 65, then divide it by that chart's own raw total. Nothing is interpolated and no sitting is projected.
Take the next step
Which science exam is your child actually sitting?
Tell us the grade, the school and the course name. That settles which paper is ahead and which chart their practice scores should be read against — and we will say so even if the answer is that no tutoring is needed yet.