 BOARD OF COOPERATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES
CAPITAL REGION BOCES
ALBANY, SCHOHARIE, SCHENECTADY, SARATOGA COUNTIES
900 Watervliet-Shaker Road – Suite 102, Albany, NY 12205, (518) 862-5300 Fax (518) 862-5396
NERIC Answer Sheet Instructions for Administration of the January 2016 Regents Exams
SCANNING DEADLINE – ALL ANSWER SHEETS MUST BE SCANNED BY FRIDAY, 2/5/2016, 4:00 PM
PRIOR TO THE EXAM:
1. Please review the answer documents to make sure you have the correct sheets for your district/school/students. Included in the
package should be your Preprinted Answer Sheets, Extra Answer Sheets, Answer Sheet Roster and Instructions. Non-secure essay
booklets, science reference tables, and scoring instructions will be included in your shipment ONLY if you ordered them through
NERIC. You may make as many copies of these Instructions as needed.
2.
EXTRA ANSWER SHEETS AND PREPRINTED ANSWER SHEETS:
 Extra Answer Sheets – DO NOT make copies of any Extra Answer Sheet for administration purposes; the sheets are numbered
and MUST NOT BE DUPLICATED.
 Preprinted answer sheets - Do not make copies of any Preprinted Answer Sheets. Do not give any preprinted answer sheet to any
student other than the one whose name is printed on the sheet. If you do not have a preprinted answer sheet, use an Extra
Answer Sheet for any student who does not have a preprinted sheet.
 If you need additional Extra Answer Sheets you must contact NERIC immediately; do not wait till the day of the exam.
3.
If there is a problem with the test materials, immediately call one of the NERIC Testing Coordinators: Gail Newcomb 518-862-5355
or Bill Adam 518-862-5310, or send an email to testing@neric.org.
4.
Separate the answer sheets for your out-of-district-placement students and forward them to their o-o-d school as soon as possible. If
you do not have a preprinted answer sheet for an o-o-d-p student please use an Extra Answer Sheet. You must write the student’s
name, ID number, and grade on the answer sheet. It is not recommended to send a totally blank answer sheet to the o-o-d-p
location. Include a copy of these instructions with your o-o-d-p students answer sheets.
5.
If you use an Extra Answer Sheet: Please confirm with your CIO that these students are entered into the Data Warehouse Level 0
with a valid Demographic record and Enrollment record and data has been pushed to Level 1.
DAY OF THE EXAM:
6. Distribute the NERIC answer sheets to the students whose name is preprinted on the sheet. A supply of (blank) Extra Answer Sheets
has been included to provide for any student without a preprinted answer sheet; such as a Walk-in Student.
7.
Walk-in students are to print legibly their full name on both sides of the answer sheet, their grade, and teacher name if applicable on
the NERIC Extra Answer Sheet at the appropriate time indicated by the proctor.
 After the test is finished, the staff must print the student’s ID number in the Student ID
box located on the lower-left front of the sheet for all students who use an Extra Answer
Sheet; such as Walk-in Students. Student ID number MUST be 9-digits, left-zero-filled.
8.
Instruct the students to bubble their answers to the Multiple Choice questions in blue or black ballpoint pen ONLY. Remind them
to bubble completely, see example given on the answer sheet and below. Incorrect shading of the bubbles may result in the answer
sheet not being scored. If a student decides to change their selection of an answer, they should put an X through their first choice
and fill in a new choice. If a student changes an answer multiple times, they may draw an arrow or circle indicating their final
response to a multiple choice question.
9.
Students are to record answers for Constructed Response questions in the test booklet.
10. After the student finishes the test, he/she must sign the declaration in the place provided on the front of the answer sheet.
11. Raters (Teachers) must score the Constructed Response questions for each student. Raters (Teachers) must bubble these scores
using blue or black ballpoint pen ONLY on the back of the answer sheet in the grids provided. Do not use Red ink or pencil.
Raters (Teachers) must bubble completely, see example given on the answer sheet and below. Incorrect shading of the bubbles may
result in the answer sheet not being scored. If a score is changed, the Raters (Teachers) should put an X through the first score and
fill in the new score. If the score is changed multiple times, they may draw an arrow or circle indicating their final score points for
that Constructed Response question. DO NOT LEAVE ANY Constructed Response QUESTIONS BLANK.
12. Per NYSED, each Rater is to print his/her name in the Rater’s/Scorer’s Names grid provided on the back of the answer sheet.
Raters are to write the corresponding letter in the Raters’/Scorer’s Code Letters section next to each question they rate/score.
 An Equal Opportunity Employer
CONTINUED ON BACK – Page 1 of 2
13. Raters (Teachers), if scoring the Multiple Choice portion of the test: DO NOT make any marks in the bubbles, you may ONLY
make marks on the question number and nowhere else.
CHECKLIST (it is the Testing Coordinator to check all answer sheets before scanning):
14. Extra answer sheets
 Is the Student’s 9-digit, left-zero-filled ID number printed legibly in the ID box provided on
the bottom-left side of the front page of the answer sheet? See example
 Is the student’s name written on both sides of the sheet? And, is their grade, and teacher name
printed legibly in the space provided?
 Please confirm with your CIO that the Student ID is correct and that these students are entered into the Data Warehouse Level
0 with a valid Demographic record and Enrollment record? And, has the data been pushed to Level 1?
15. Are ALL Constructed Response items bubbled properly? Incorrect shading of the bubbles or blank bubbles will result in the answer
sheet not being scored. DO NOT LEAVE ANY Constructed Response QUESTIONS BLANK.
PACKING THE ANSWER SHEETS:
16. Each exam should be bundled separately. Answer sheets should be bundled together by Exam using paper adding machine tape or
separated by color paper. Do not staple, place Post-it notes on answer sheets, use rubber bands, or paper clip answer sheets
together. This will slow down the scanning process, may cause the scanner to jam, and could damage the answer sheets.
17. Do not return any unused answer sheets; either preprinted with student names or blank Extra Answer Sheets. ONLY
complete answer sheets that should return a score should be scanned. Do not return the Answer Sheet Roster.
SCANNING / SCORING OPTIONS:
18. Please check with your Testing Coordinator and/or Principal for the Scanning/Scoring option chosen by your district. The scoring of
only the constructed response questions or the entire exam is dependent upon which option your district chooses. The Rating
Guides, Scoring Keys, and Conversion Charts will be posted on NYSED website the day of the test for scoring purposes.
ONLY COMPLETE ANSWER SHEETS ARE TO BE SCANNED – incomplete or unused answer sheets must not be
delivered to a scanning site, mailed to a scanning site, or scanned in-district.
I. Scan at the regional site: After the Constructed Response scores have been recorded on the back of the sheet, bundle the
answer sheets by exam, place all completed Extra Answer Sheets on top of the answer sheets preprinted with student’s name,
and then deliver them to your Regional BOCES Scanning Site for scanning/scoring. Please adhere to your scheduled time.
II. Manually score the exams and transport the provided universal answer sheets to NERIC by February 5, 2016. After the
answer sheets have been scored, bundle the answer sheets by exam, place all completed Extra Answer Sheets on top of the
answer sheets preprinted with student’s name, and place them in a sturdy envelope or box. Mail or hand-deliver the answer
sheets to NERIC; Attn: Rosemary Baum, 900 Watervliet-Shaker Road-Suite 102, Albany, NY 12205. Answer sheets
must be received by NERIC no later than 4:00 PM, 2/6/2015.
III. Scan on-site (in-district). After the Constructed Response scores have been recorded on the back of the sheet, bundle the
answer sheets by exam, place all completed Extra Answer Sheets on top of the answer sheets preprinted with student’s name,
and then deliver them to your in-district scanning location. Follow the instructions set forth by your district scanning
committee. All answer sheets must be scanned by 4:00 PM, 2/5/2016.
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If any answer sheet needs to be rescanned your district will incur a $0.50 cent rescan fee per sheet rescanned.
Use the blank, non-sequentially numbered, Extra Answer Sheets for any student without a preprinted answer sheet; such as Walk-in Students.
DO NOT PHOTOCOPY AN ANSWER SHEET TO ADMINISTER THE TEST. The sheets are numbered and must not be duplicated.
DO NOT GIVE A PREPRINTED ANSWER SHEET TO ANY STUDENT OTHER THAN THE ONE WHOSE NAME IS PRINTED ON THE SHEET.
Contact NERIC if additional Extra Answer Sheets are needed.
If mailing or hand-delivering answer sheets to NERIC the address is: NERIC, Attn: Rosemary Baum, 900 Watervliet-Shaker
Road-Suite 102, Albany, NY 12205
If you have any questions please contact Gail Newcomb 518-862-5355, or Bill Adam 518-862-5310; or send an email to
testing@neric.org. All answer sheets must be scanned or delivered to NERIC by 4:00 PM, 2/5/2016.
Rev. 12/3/2015 gmn
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