Hebrew Exemption Exams Terminated

The Jewish Studies Faculty has decided to stop administering the Hebrew and Jewish History exemption tests to students of Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business. Their decision will take affect after the Spring Semester of 1999-2000. In a corollary decision, the faculty ruled that the Yerushalmi, a Hebrew exam offered by the World Zionist Organization, may not be taken after a student's sophomore year. Previously, early admissions freshmen could postpone taking their exams until they were Juniors, after they returned from their year in Israel.

Dean Adler discussed the reasons for discontinuing the exam. "The intersection of the two parts of your education, at least from the College side, is what is called Academic Jewish Studies," he explained. "It is the purpose of your Jewish studies in the College to provide you with the analytical tools that will serve you in your Jewish education. In order to upgrade continually your linguistic training, we decided to discontinue the exemption tests and to therefore encourage students to take our rigorous, first rate Hebrew courses."

One administrator informed The Commentator that the exams were terminated because "the exam scores were quite embarrassing - students of a Jewish college had been scoring very low in Hebrew language compared to secular institutions.."

Student reaction to the new policy varied greatly. Some expressed concern that the school was adding more requirements in an effort to further impede ability to graduate quickly. Others felt that the change was beneficial in that it will force students to learn a higher level of Hebrew and possess a stronger knowle dge of Jewish History.

Ben Franz, a YC senior, approved of the new rule. "In truth," he said, "the exemption exams were merely a crutch which enabled many students who were good at testing to get rid of their Judaic requirements." Franz did caution that the move will "guarantee that the less intensive Hebrew classes will be overpopulated." Many other students echoed this observation, approving the logic behind the change, while questioning whether the faculty had fully thought out all possible consequences.

Other student responses included questioning the dearth of advanced courses offered in Jewish History and Hebrew. "If Yeshiva is serious about making their students more proficient in these subjects, they will offer higher level options in the basic courses, especially for those who already have a good background in Jewish History," remarked Greg Samuels, a YC Junior. Another result feared by students was the influx of transfers into IBC to aid in completing the Judaic requirements quickly.

Some students offered a possible compromise plan. "A better solution than the discontinuation of the test would be to increase the difficulty of the test in order to select those students who are really proficient in Hebrew from those who are just good test-takers," suggested SSSB Senior Yehuda Rosenblum. A similar proposition proscribed keeping the exemption exams, while requiring students who pass to take six credits in higher level Jewish Studies courses.