The Global History Regents: What’s on It, How It’s Scored, and How Your Child Can Prepare (2027)

Parents often ask me about the Global Regents in the fall. Their child is taking it in January or June, and they want to know what is on it, what score is enough, and how to help at home.

Here is the short answer.

The Global Regents is New York State’s world history and geography exam. It has 28 multiple-choice questions, two sets of short written answers, and one essay built around five documents. A scale score of 65 passes. The best practice material is free, straight from New York State, including sample essays that have already been scored.

Below, I explain each part, how the score is built, and the plan I give families in the weeks before the exam.

What Is the Global Regents?

The official name is the Regents Examination in Global History and Geography II. Most people just say the Global Regents or the Global History Regents. They are the same test.

It is based on New York’s 10th grade Global History and Geography course, which covers world history from about 1750 to the present. Students may also bring in what they learned in 9th grade, but they don’t have to.

Right now, a Regents diploma requires a passing score on one social studies Regents exam (or a state-approved alternative). New York has two: this one and the U.S. History Regents. A second social studies exam can also count as a student’s “pathway” requirement. For the full rules, see NYSED’s graduation requirements page.

New York is reviewing those rules. As of September 2026, the state education department (NYSED) has proposed ending the requirement to pass Regents exams for a diploma. But NYSED says it is not eliminating the Regents exams, and the current requirements stay in effect for all students until any change is approved.

When Is the Global History Regents Given in 2027?

Yes, it is offered in January. NYSED’s schedules for January 2027 and June 2027 both list Global History and Geography II.

Administration	Testing period	Global on the schedule?
January 2027	January 26–29, 2027	Yes
June 2027	June 15–24, 2027 (no exams on June 18)	Yes

The exact day and time are on NYSED’s Regents examination schedules page. Your child’s school will confirm when to report, so always check with them.

One warning. The current exam was first given in June 2019. Review books and websites written before then may describe the older Global exam, which used a different essay. Make sure any practice material says “Global History and Geography II.”

What Is the Format of the Global Regents?

Here is the format, taken from NYSED’s educator guide and the June 2026 exam:

Part	What your child does	Credits
Part I: Multiple choice	Answers 28 questions, usually in groups of two or more about the same source, such as a passage, map, chart, or cartoon	1 per correct answer (28)
Part II: CRQs	Answers two sets of short questions, each set based on a pair of documents	1 per question (7 on the June 2026 exam)
Part III: Enduring Issues Essay	Writes one essay using five documents plus outside knowledge	Scored 0–5

The exam runs three hours. In June 2026, for example, it ran from 1:15 to 4:15 p.m.

A document here means a source printed in the test booklet. It can be a primary source from the time, such as a letter, speech, diary, newspaper article, or photograph. Or it can be a secondary source written later, such as a textbook or history book.

Parts II and III must be written in black or dark-blue ink. Phones and other communication devices are strictly prohibited.

What Are the CRQs?

CRQ stands for constructed-response question. That just means your child writes a short answer in their own words instead of picking a letter.

Every exam has two CRQ sets. Each set gives two documents and asks three kinds of questions:

1. Historical or geographic context. Historical context means what was happening at the time and place that led to the document. Your child explains the circumstances behind Document 1.
2. Sourcing. Sourcing means thinking about where a document came from. Your child explains the author’s bias (one-sidedness), point of view, audience (who it was made for), or purpose (why it was made).
3. How the two documents connect. One set always asks about cause and effect. The other asks about either a turning point (a big event that brought major change) or a similarity or difference between the documents.

Each question is worth one point. In my experience, a good answer is often just two or three sentences. The most common mistake I see is students summarizing the document instead of answering the exact question asked.

What Is the Enduring Issues Essay?

This is the part that makes the Global Regents different from the math exams, and the part parents ask me about most.

NYSED defines an enduring issue as “a challenge or problem that has been debated or discussed across time.” NYSED’s own teacher materials use human rights and nationalism as examples, and the June 2026 rating guide walks through war as one.

Your child reads five documents. Then they must:

• Identify an enduring issue raised by at least three of the documents.
• Explain the issue using evidence from at least three documents.
• Argue why it matters: how it has affected people or been affected by them, and how it has continued or changed over time.
• Add outside knowledge, meaning relevant facts they learned in class, not just what the documents say.

The essay is scored with a rubric, which is a scoring guide describing what an essay at each level looks like. Scores run from 0 to 5. At least two trained raters score each essay, and a third settles scores that differ by more than one point. Teachers may not score their own students’ papers.

How Is the Global History Regents Scored?

First, the Part I and Part II credits are added together, for up to 35. Then that total is paired with the essay score on a conversion chart, which gives the final scale score from 0 to 100.

NYSED publishes a new chart for every exam. This is what people mean by “the Global Regents curve.” Here is how two recent charts compare for a student who earned a 3 on the essay:

Administration	Fewest Part I + II credits to pass (65 or higher)	Fewest Part I + II credits for 85 or higher
January 2026	16 of 35 (scale score 65)	31 of 35 (scale score 85)
June 2026	18 of 35 (scale score 66; the chart has no 65 in this column)	32 of 35 (scale score 85)

The essay carries real weight. On the June 2026 chart, a student with 18 credits and an essay score of 3 earned a 66. Raising the essay to a 4 gave a 70. Getting the same 70 with an essay score of 3 took three more Part I or II credits.

The performance levels on these charts:

Scale score	Performance level
85–100	Level 5 (highest)
79–84	Level 4
65–78	Level 3
55–64	Level 2
Below 55	Level 1

Level 3 and above meet the requirement for a Regents diploma. NYSED describes Level 5 as meeting expectations “with distinction.” Students with disabilities who score at Level 2 meet the requirement for a local diploma.

For how scaling works across all subjects, see our post on Regents exam scores. Our Algebra 1 conversion chart guide shows the same idea on a math exam.

Where Can You Find Free Official Global Regents Practice?

This is the most useful section of this post.

NYSED posts past Global Regents exams for free at nysedregents.org/ghg2. For each exam, you’ll find:

• The exam itself
• The scoring key, with the multiple-choice answers
• The rating guide, with the scoring rules for every CRQ and the essay
• The conversion chart, to turn the raw score into a scale score

The rating guide holds the real treasure: anchor papers. These are sample essays that NYSED has already scored, one at each level from 5 down to 1, with notes explaining why each earned its score. It also has five more scored practice papers, which NYSED uses to train the people who score the exam.

For the CRQs, the rating guide lists examples of answers that earn the point and answers that don’t. That is the fastest way for your child to see what “explain” really means to a scorer.

I tell parents this is the single most helpful thing they can show their child. Most students have never seen what a 5 essay looks like next to a 2 on the same documents.

NYSED’s Global History and Geography II page also posts an educator guide and a short guide called “Understanding the CRQs.” Our list of free Regents prep resources for NYC students collects more options in one place.

How Should Your Child Use Past Exams at Home?

The biggest mistake I see is students practicing only the multiple choice, because it is easy to check. Here is the plan I recommend for the four to six weeks before the exam:

1. Take one full past exam under real conditions. Three hours, pen for Parts II and III, no phone.
2. Score the multiple choice with the official scoring key.
3. Check each CRQ answer against the examples in the rating guide. Be strict. There is no partial credit: each answer earns 1 or 0.
4. Compare the essay to the anchor papers. Read the anchors at each level, then decide honestly which one your child’s essay is closest to.
5. Turn the total into a scale score using that exam’s conversion chart.
6. Pick the weakest part and practice only that. For CRQs, do just the sourcing questions from three old exams. For the essay, practice naming an issue and finding it in three documents in ten minutes.
7. Repeat with a new exam every week or two.

Save the most recent exam for last, as a final full practice.

Conclusion

The Global Regents has 28 multiple-choice questions, two CRQ sets, and an enduring issues essay built on five documents. A scale score of 65 passes, and 85 starts Level 5. The credits needed change with every exam, because NYSED publishes a new conversion chart each time.

Both the January 2027 and June 2027 schedules include the exam. The best preparation is free: NYSED’s past exams, scoring keys, rating guides, and anchor papers.

Frequently Asked Questions

If your child is taking the Global Regents in January or June and would benefit from structured practice on the CRQs and the essay, Khan’s Tutorial’s Regents group classes are a good next step.