1.2 The Next Generation Reference Sheet, Calculator Rules & Pacing

1.2 The Next Generation Reference Sheet, Calculator Rules & Pacing

A detachable Algebra II Reference Sheet (NGLS) is bound into the back of every examination booklet. The Educator Guide describes it as information students are expected to apply, not necessarily memorize. The corollary matters just as much: anything not printed on that sheet is something you are expected to have memorized. Students lose credit every June because they assume a formula will be there and it is not.

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1. What the Reference Sheet Actually Provides

The sheet is a two-column grid. Here is its complete contents, transcribed from the sheet bound into the June 2026 booklet.

Left column

Right column

Three of those entries are the ones students most often assume are missing:

1. The quadratic formula is printed. You do not need to memorize it - but you do need to know that $b^2 - 4ac$ is the discriminant and what its sign tells you, because that interpretation is not on the sheet.
2. The core trigonometric identities are printed, including the Pythagorean identity and all four reciprocal/quotient definitions. What is not printed is the unit circle, the exact values at $\frac{\pi}{6}$, $\frac{\pi}{4}$, and $\frac{\pi}{3}$, or the two derived Pythagorean identities $1 + \tan^2\theta = \sec^2\theta$ and $1 + \cot^2\theta = \csc^2\theta$.
3. Both cubic factorizations are printed. The sum and difference of cubes are the one factoring pattern you can look up mid-exam.

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2. What Is Not on the Sheet - Memorize These

[!IMPORTANT] A fast way to internalize this: the sheet gives you identities and closed-form models. It never gives you definitions, interpretations, or conversions. Discriminant meaning, what a $z$-score means, how to convert degrees to radians, and what a growth rate is versus a growth factor are all yours to supply.

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3. Calculator and Straightedge Rules

The Educator Guide is explicit: a graphing calculator and a straightedge (ruler) must be available to every student taking the Regents Examination in Algebra II, and students must have exclusive use of the calculator for the full duration of the examination. The June 2026 booklet repeats the requirement on its cover.

Prohibited during testing:

• Calculators capable of symbol manipulation (computer algebra systems).
• Calculators that can communicate with other calculators through infrared sensors or any other channel.
• Operating manuals, instruction cards, or formula cards for the calculator.
• Any communications device. Possession or use of one, however briefly, invalidates the examination.

The Pi Rule

NYSED requires students to use the $\pi$ symbol and the calculator's pi key when it applies. Unless a question says otherwise, approximations such as 3.1416, 3.14, and $\frac{22}{7}$ are unacceptable and will be marked wrong.

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4. The Five Calculator Workflows That Earn Credits

+---------------------------------------------------------------+
|  1. STAT EDIT / STAT CALC  -> regressions (Lin, Quad, Exp, Pwr)|
|  2. 2nd TRACE (CALC)       -> zero, intersect, minimum, maximum|
|  3. 2nd VARS (DISTR)       -> normalcdf, invNorm               |
|  4. 2nd GRAPH (TABLE)      -> equivalence and root checks      |
|  5. MODE                   -> RADIAN vs DEGREE discipline      |
+---------------------------------------------------------------+

4.1 Regressions

Enter the explanatory values in L1 and the response values in L2 under STAT -> 1: Edit. Then STAT -> CALC and choose the model the prompt names: LinReg(ax+b), QuadReg, ExpReg for $y = ab^x$, or PwrReg for $y = ax^b$. Before pressing Calculate, set Store RegEQ to Y1 (VARS -> Y-VARS -> 1: Function -> 1: Y1). That stores the unrounded model.

[!TIP] Report rounded, compute unrounded. When a prompt says "round all values to the nearest thousandth," write the rounded equation as your answer, but evaluate any prediction from the unrounded Y1. Rounding the coefficients first and then predicting is a rounding error and costs a credit.

4.2 Zeros, Intersections, and Extrema

2nd TRACE gives 2: zero (set a left bound, a right bound, then guess), 5: intersect (first curve, second curve, guess), and 3: minimum / 4: maximum. Use intersect to check the answer to an "algebraically determine" prompt - never as the answer itself.

4.3 Normal Distribution Commands

2nd VARS (DISTR) gives normalcdf(lower, upper, mu, sigma) for an area and invNorm(area, mu, sigma) for a cutoff. Use $\pm 1\mathrm{E}99$ for an unbounded tail. invNorm always takes the area to the left, so a "top 8%" prompt takes $1 - 0.08 = 0.92$.

4.4 Table Checks

For "which expression is equivalent to" items, put the original in Y1 and a candidate in Y2, then read 2nd GRAPH. Matching columns across positive, negative, and fractional inputs is strong evidence of equivalence; an ERROR row appearing in both columns at the same input confirms a shared domain restriction.

4.5 Angle Mode

Set MODE to RADIAN at the start and leave it there. Every sinusoidal modeling item on this exam uses a real-number input. In Degree mode, $y = \sin(x)$ graphed on $[-10, 10]$ looks like a nearly flat line, because one cycle needs 360 horizontal units instead of $2\pi \approx 6.28$.

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5. A Three-Hour Pacing Plan

The Three-Pass Strategy

• Pass 1 - sweep. Work straight through and answer everything you can set up immediately. If a question stalls you for more than about ninety seconds, mark the given quantities on the page and move on.
• Pass 2 - return. Come back to the flagged constructed responses. Break each prompt into its separate requests and answer them one at a time; a partially answered Part IV still scores.
• Pass 3 - audit. Confirm that Part I bubble numbers line up with booklet numbers, that every rounding instruction was obeyed to the exact stated place, that units are attached where a prompt asked for them, and that no extraneous root was left in a final answer.