The New Chemistry Regents (2026–27)
8 min read
New York replaced its chemistry exam. The new Regents Examination in Physical Science: Chemistry had its first sitting in June 2026: 45–55 questions organized into 9–11 clusters, about 60% multiple choice and 40% written response, with required hands-on Investigations before you can sit for it. NYSED gives the legacy exam alongside it through June 2027, then retires it.
The change is bigger than a fresh name. On the old Physical Setting/Chemistry exam, most questions were stand-alone; on the new one, every question is part of a cluster about a real-world scenario. A student who prepared for the old format will recognize the chemistry and be surprised by the shape. Here we cover what changed, who takes which exam, and how to prepare when almost no past papers exist yet. If it's the study plan you're after rather than the format tour, start with how to pass the Chemistry Regents.
What is the new Chemistry Regents exam?
The Regents Examination in Physical Science: Chemistry is New York's replacement for the Physical Setting/Chemistry exam, and NYSED first gave it in June 2026. It is the exam for the New York State P-12 Science Learning Standards, which are based on the same National Research Council framework as the Next Generation Science Standards. Under those standards, every question has three dimensions: a Disciplinary Core Idea (the chemistry content), a Science and Engineering Practice (skills like analyzing data or arguing from evidence), and a Crosscutting Concept (themes like patterns or cause and effect). In plain terms, knowing the fact is no longer enough on its own; you have to use the fact on the data in the question.
Do I take the new exam or the old one?
Which Chemistry Regents you take depends on which course you were taught. NYSED is running both exams in parallel during the transition: the new Physical Science: Chemistry exam's first sitting was June 2026, and the legacy Physical Setting/Chemistry exam's last is June 2027. The overlap exists because the two sets of standards differ enough that students deserve the exam matching their instruction. If you start chemistry in September 2026, assume the new exam and confirm with your teacher, since course alignment is a school-level decision during the transition year. Students retaking after a legacy course still have the legacy exam available through June 2027.
When is the next Chemistry Regents?
The next Chemistry Regents is on Tuesday, January 26, 2027, at 1:15 p.m., and New York gives both versions that day. NYSED has scheduled three chemistry sittings for 2027:
| Date | Legacy Physical Setting/Chemistry | New Physical Science: Chemistry |
|---|---|---|
| January 26, 2027 | Yes | Yes |
| June 23, 2027 | Yes, its last sitting | Yes |
| August 18, 2027 | No | Yes |
After June 2027, the new exam is the only Chemistry Regents New York gives. NYSED posts the schedule for each exam period on its Regents examination schedules page, and your school confirms which version you sit. We keep the next date current on our Chemistry Regents page.
What does the new exam look like?
| Feature | Legacy exam (through June 2027) | New exam (June 2026 onward) |
|---|---|---|
| Official name | Physical Setting/Chemistry | Physical Science: Chemistry |
| Standards | 1996 MST standards | NYS P-12 Science Learning Standards |
| Questions | 85 points across Parts A, B-1, B-2, C | 45–55 questions in 9–11 clusters, 1 credit each |
| Question mix | ~59% multiple choice (50 of 85 points) | ~60% multiple choice, ~40% constructed response |
| Organization | Mostly stand-alone questions | Every question belongs to a storyline cluster |
| Labs | 1,200 minutes of lab with reports | Required hands-on Investigations to sit for the exam |
| Score reported | Scaled score; a 65 is a pass | Scaled score plus Levels 1–5; Level 3 is a pass |
| Time | 3 hours | 3 hours |
Two of those rows are why studying feels different. The written-response share is up, to roughly 40%, so explaining reasoning in sentences and showing setups is worth more than it was. And the cluster format means you read more: each cluster has a scenario and its stimuli before the first question.
What is a question cluster?
A question cluster is a group of related questions, typically four to six given the exam's 45–55 questions across 9–11 clusters, about what NYSED calls an assessment storyline: a real-world phenomenon that NYSED introduces with reading passages, data tables, graphs, diagrams, or photos, and then questions that each depend on those materials and on the ones before. NYSED gives the number of questions in the cluster's introduction. A single cluster has both multiple choice and written response, so you might interpret a graph in question 3 and defend a claim about it in question 4. NYSED publishes sample clusters and a Question Sampler on its Physical Science: Chemistry page, and they are the single best free preview of the format, because you learn more about the exam's rhythm from one cluster than from any summary.
What topics are on the new Chemistry Regents?
NYSED publishes a topic blueprint with percentage ranges for each area of the exam:
| Topic | Share of the exam |
|---|---|
| Chemical Reactions | 36–46% |
| Structures and Properties of Matter | 30–40% |
| Energy | 10–14% |
| Engineering, Technology, and Applications | 5–11% |
| Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation | 5–7% |
| Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems | 2–5% |
Read the top two rows together: roughly three-quarters of the exam is chemical reactions plus the structure and properties of matter. That is the familiar heart of high school chemistry, from periodic-table patterns and bonding through reaction types, equilibrium, and conservation of matter. The engineering and ecosystems slices are new emphases from the standards, but small ones.
On the June and August 2026 exams, NYSED put acids, bases, and pH in 10 of the 98 questions. We teach that unit from the first idea in our free pH module, with no account needed. We explain the chemistry itself, from the proton to indicator ranges, in Acids, Bases, and pH: A High School Guide.
What are the required Investigations?
The Investigations are hands-on lab tasks that NYSED requires students to complete during the course, and successful completion is a condition of admission to the exam itself. Where the legacy exam's requirement was 1,200 minutes of lab time, the new exam's is specific three-dimensional tasks done during instruction. Around 15% of the written exam's questions are on the Performance Expectations behind the Investigations, though they are about the underlying content rather than the specific tasks. Schools don't report Investigation scores to the state, and they aren't part of your exam score. So treat the Investigations as exam preparation rather than a hoop, because NYSED writes the test assuming you have done them.
How is the new exam scored?
NYSED reports one of five performance levels alongside a 0–100 scaled score. Level 3 means a student minimally meets the standards; Levels 4 and 5 mean fully meeting the standards and meeting them with distinction. On the June 2026 conversion chart, Level 3 was a scaled score of 65 and up (21 of 50 raw credits), and Level 5 was 85 and up. The August 2026 exam had 48 credits, and Level 3 was again 21 of them. NYSED publishes a new chart with each administration because the raw cut points can differ from one exam to the next. We collected the cut points from both 2026 charts, and from all 58 charts for the legacy exam, in Chemistry Regents Curve: Raw Score for a 65. Every question is worth one credit whether it is multiple choice or written response. Students also get a new reference table that NYSED designed for locate-and-apply use, plus a required scientific calculator; the department states outright that the table holds information you are expected to find and use, not memorize. We list what's on its four pages, and what NYSED cut from the 2011 edition, in Chemistry Regents Reference Tables 2011/2025.
What Level 3 means for a diploma depends on when you graduate. If you graduate before January 2028, you meet the content requirement for a Regents diploma with Level 3. In September 2026, NYSED announced that students graduating in January 2028 or later will not have to pass Regents exams to earn a diploma, and it plans to bring the regulation changes to the Board of Regents by February 2027 (announcement, memo to schools). NYSED says it will keep giving Regents exams as statewide measures of student achievement.
How do you prepare for an exam with only two past papers?
Start with the awkward fact: NYSED has given only two operational exams, in June and August 2026. Those two papers (nysedregents.org) and NYSED's sample clusters are the whole library, so the format materials are precious and the fundamentals decisive. The January 26, 2027 exam is the third once NYSED posts it. Most of the preparation is three moves:
- Read every sample cluster NYSED has published, then the June and August 2026 exams on nysedregents.org. Practice the rhythm: skim the stimuli, mark the data, answer in order.
- Make the foundation automatic. Element symbols, ion charges, formula reading. You still need this vocabulary in every cluster, and you can use spaced recall practice for the new exam the way students used it for the legacy one; we walk through it in our Chemistry Regents study plan.
- Practice explaining in writing. With written response near 40%, the habit of answering out loud in full sentences, then on paper, is worth building from the first week of the course.
Are the popular Regents review videos still useful?
Mostly yes, with one eye open. The best-known review resource in this space is the 100 Ways to Pass the Chemistry Regents video series from Chemistry Regents Video Tutor, made by a New York certified chemistry teacher: a hundred two-minute videos, one concept each, most followed by real past-exam questions. As chemistry teaching, that format is still sound, and the core content overlaps heavily with the new exam's top two blueprint topics. What you can't yet get from the existing video libraries is the new FORMAT: their makers built them around the legacy exam's stand-alone questions, not storyline clusters or the higher written-response share. Use them for the chemistry; use NYSED's sample clusters and Question Sampler for the shape of the test.
What a game is for
NYSED raised the reading load and the reasoning load on the new exam, but not the entry fee: students who recognize "Fe," recall what sulfate carries, and read formulas without stopping have working memory left for the storyline. That fluency is what Periodic Mole drills, one question at a time: answer right in Bond Forge and you draw your bond. Full access includes all 118 elements with a shared review schedule. Three of the games are free to play, the interactive periodic table and printable charts are free for everyone, and ten minutes a day from September onward means walking into June with the vocabulary automatic and your attention free for the clusters.
Try it free. Bond Forge is free to play with a starter set of elements, no account needed. Full access is $59 for a year: every game and all 118 elements, with progress saved. No subscription.
FAQ
When is the next Chemistry Regents? Tuesday, January 26, 2027, at 1:15 p.m. New York gives both versions that day, and both again on June 23, 2027, the legacy exam's last sitting. On August 18, 2027, New York gives only the new Physical Science: Chemistry exam.
When did New York first give the new Chemistry Regents? June 2026. NYSED gives the legacy Physical Setting/Chemistry exam alongside it through June 2027, and after that only the new Physical Science: Chemistry exam.
Is the new Chemistry Regents harder than the old one? It is different more than harder. The chemistry content overlaps heavily, but written response is up, to about 40% of questions, every question belongs to a cluster with its own scenario and data, and you can't sit for the exam without the required Investigations. Students strong on fundamentals adapt fastest.
How long is the Chemistry Regents? Three hours, for both versions: the legacy Physical Setting/Chemistry exam and the new Physical Science: Chemistry exam have the same three-hour window. The new exam's clusters have a scenario and stimuli before the first question, so the reading is front-loaded and pacing practice belongs in your prep.
How many questions are on the Chemistry Regents? The new exam (June 2026 onward) has 45–55 questions in 9–11 clusters, each worth one credit, about 40% of them constructed response and the rest multiple choice. The legacy exam, which NYSED gives through June 2027, is 85 points across Parts A, B-1, B-2, and C, 50 of them multiple choice.
How many labs do you need to take the Chemistry Regents? There is no minute count for the new exam: to sit for it, you complete NYSED's hands-on Investigations during the course. The legacy rule was 1,200 minutes of lab time with reports. Schools don't report Investigation scores to the state, and they aren't part of your exam score.
What score is a pass on the new Chemistry Regents? Level 3. NYSED reports Performance Levels 1–5 alongside a scaled score, and on the June 2026 exam Level 3 was a scaled score of 65 and up, or 21 of 50 raw credits. NYSED set the levels at a standard-setting meeting after that first exam, and in August 2026 Level 3 was again 21 raw credits, of 48. If you graduate before January 2028, you meet the content requirement for a Regents diploma with Level 3; in September 2026, NYSED announced that students graduating in January 2028 or later will not have to pass Regents exams to earn a diploma.
Is there a curve on the new Chemistry Regents? Not one where your score depends on other students' scores. What students call the curve is the conversion chart: NYSED posts one for each administration, with the 0–100 scaled score for each raw credit total, as on the legacy exam, and on the new exam's chart a Performance Level beside each score. NYSED set each level's starting score at a standard-setting meeting after the first administration, in June 2026, and builds each later exam to the same scale, so the raw credits for Level 3 can differ a little from one exam to the next when one exam's questions are harder or easier than another's. Students needed 21 raw credits for Level 3 at both 2026 administrations.
Do you still get a reference table on the new Chemistry Regents? Yes. NYSED gave the new exam its own four-page reference table, the 2025 Edition Reference Tables for Physical Science: Chemistry, and designed it for finding and applying information rather than memorizing it. You get a copy at the exam, and NYSED publishes it on its site. NYSED requires a scientific calculator and permits graphing calculators with cleared memory.
Related
Sources
- New York State Education Department. Educator Guide to the Regents Examination in Physical Science: Chemistry (June 2025). nysed.gov.
- New York State Education Department. Implementation Schedule for the New Regents Examinations in Science. nysed.gov.
- New York State Education Department. Sample Clusters for the New Regents Examination in Chemistry and Regents Examination in Physics. nysed.gov.
- New York State Education Department. Physical Science: Chemistry (Question Sampler and reference materials). nysed.gov.
- New York State Education Department. Regents Examination in Physical Setting/Chemistry, past exams. nysedregents.org/chemistry.
- New York State Education Department. Regents Examination in Physical Science: Chemistry, past exams (June and August 2026). nysedregents.org/ps-chemistry.
- New York State Education Department. Regents Examination in Physical Science: Chemistry, June 2026, conversion chart. nysedregents.org.
- New York State Education Department. Regents Examination in Physical Science: Chemistry, August 2026, conversion chart. nysedregents.org.
- New York State Education Department. Regents Examination Schedules (January, June, and August 2027). nysed.gov.
- New York State Education Department. NYSED Advances Next Phase of NY Inspires Education Transformation (press release, September 14, 2026). nysed.gov.
- New York State Education Department. NY Inspires Transformations: Sunsetting Diploma Assessment Requirements and Moving to One Diploma (memo, September 28, 2026). nysed.gov.