What is the shape of the whole Regents ELA exam, how do the parts add up, and how does the raw score become a grade out of 100?
The three-part exam format: the structure of the whole Regents ELA exam (Part 1 Reading Comprehension, Part 2 Source-Based Argument, Part 3 Text-Analysis Response), how the raw points combine, and how the total converts to a scaled score out of 100 with 65 to pass.
The shape of the whole Regents ELA exam: Part 1 Reading Comprehension (24 multiple choice), Part 2 the Source-Based Argument (out of 6), and Part 3 the Text-Analysis Response (out of 4), how the raw points combine, and how the total converts to a scaled score out of 100 with 65 to pass.
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What this skill is asking
Knowing the shape of the whole exam before you sit it is its own kind of preparation: it tells you how the parts add up, where the points are, and how your work becomes a grade. The Regents ELA exam has three parts of very different kinds, and understanding the structure lets you budget effort sensibly. This page covers the three parts, how the raw points combine, and how the total converts to a scaled score out of 100. The transferable skill is seeing the exam as a system, so no part is over- or under-weighted in your preparation.
The three parts
The exam is one three-hour test in three distinct parts.
The variety is the point: a strong reader who cannot write an argument, or a strong writer who reads carelessly, is exposed by the three-part design. Preparation has to cover all three, which is why this site treats the reading skills, the argument, and the text-analysis response as separate strands.
How the points combine
The raw points add up and then convert.
The conversion chart means you should not try to compute your own percentage; the relationship between raw and scaled scores is fixed by NYSED for each exam. What matters for preparation is that every part contributes, and Part 1, with the most raw points, is high-leverage.
Reading the exam as a system
Try this
Q1. What are the three parts of the Regents ELA exam and the points each contributes? [Recall]
- Cue. Part 1, Reading Comprehension, 24 multiple choice (24 raw points); Part 2, the Source-Based Argument (out of 6); Part 3, the Text-Analysis Response (out of 4). The total converts to a scaled score out of 100.
Q2. Why is "Part 1 is only multiple choice, so it does not matter much" mistaken? [Short explanation]
- Cue. Part 1 is the largest single block of raw points (24), more than the two essays combined before weighting, and has single correct answers, so it is high-leverage, not negligible.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of NYSED exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Regents ELA (structure)6 marksExam format. Describe the three parts of the Regents ELA exam, the kind of task in each, and the raw points each contributes. (Knowledge of the exam structure.)Show worked answer →
The three parts: Part 1, Reading Comprehension, 24 multiple-choice questions across three unseen texts (one literature or prose passage, one poem, one informational passage), worth 24 raw points; Part 2, the Source-Based Argument, an essay using four texts on one issue, scored holistically out of 6; and Part 3, the Text-Analysis Response, a short essay on one text, scored holistically out of 4.
A strong answer notes that the raw points from all three parts are added and converted to a scaled score out of 100 using the official NYSED conversion chart for that administration, with 65 the passing score. Knowing this shape lets a student budget effort across the three very different tasks.
Regents ELA (structure)4 marksExam format. A student says, 'Part 1 is only multiple choice, so it does not matter much.' Explain why this reasoning is mistaken. (Rescoped to a 4-mark conceptual question.)Show worked answer →
The reasoning is mistaken because Part 1 contributes the largest single block of raw points (24), more than Part 2 (6) and Part 3 (4) combined before weighting. Doing well on Part 1 is therefore high-leverage, not negligible.
A strong answer adds that because the raw total converts to a scaled score, every Part 1 question carries weight toward the final grade, and accurate close reading on Part 1 is one of the most reliable ways to secure marks, since multiple choice has a single correct answer rather than the judgement of an essay rubric. Markers reward understanding that all three parts count.
Related dot points
- Timing and pacing the exam: budgeting the three hours across Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, deciding an order to tackle the parts, leaving time to plan and proofread the essays, and avoiding the common timing failures.
How to budget three hours across the Regents ELA exam: a workable time plan for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3, deciding an order to tackle the parts, leaving time to plan and proofread the essays, and avoiding the timing failures that cost otherwise strong students marks.
- Command words and task directions: reading the key command words on the Regents (identify, analyze, develop, distinguish) and decoding the bulleted task directions for Parts 2 and 3, so each response does exactly what is asked rather than a nearby task.
How to read the command words and task directions on the Regents: what identify, analyze, develop, and distinguish ask for, and how to decode the bulleted directions for the Part 2 argument and Part 3 response, so each answer does exactly what is asked.
- Understanding the scoring rubrics: how the two holistic essay rubrics work (Part 2 out of 6, Part 3 out of 4), the four shared criteria they both use, what holistic scoring means, and how to use the band language to lift a response.
How the two Regents ELA essay rubrics work: the Part 2 6-point and Part 3 4-point holistic rubrics, the four shared criteria (Content and Analysis, Command of Evidence, Coherence/Organization/Style, Control of Conventions), what holistic scoring means, and how to use the band language to raise a response.
- Answering the multiple-choice questions: a reliable method for the 24 Part 1 items (read, locate, predict, eliminate), recognizing vocabulary-in-context questions, and avoiding the distractor types the Regents builds (true-but-irrelevant, half-right, extreme, out-of-scope).
A reliable method for the 24 Part 1 Regents multiple-choice questions: read, locate, predict, eliminate; how to handle vocabulary-in-context items; and how to spot the distractor types the exam uses, true-but-irrelevant, half-right, extreme, and out-of-scope answers.
- Understanding the source-based argument: the Part 2 task (four texts on one issue, take a position, use at least three sources), how it differs from a personal-opinion essay, and what each line of the task directions requires.
What Part 2 of the Regents ELA exam asks: four texts on one issue, establish a precise claim, distinguish it from opposing claims, and use specific evidence from at least three of the texts. How the source-based argument differs from a personal-opinion essay, line by line through the task directions.
Sources & how we know this
- Regents Examinations in English Language Arts — NYSED (2025)
- Educator Guide to the Regents Examination in English Language Arts — NYSED (2025)