NY Ends Regents Exams as High School Graduation Requirement

An effort to phase out the Regents exam as a high school graduation requirement reached a major milestone on Monday, when the New York State Board of Regents authorized a plan under which current seniors will be last who must pass the test in order to earn a diploma.

The board’s approval kicks off a final push to turn the proposal — which has been in the pipeline for some time, but still lacks specifics — into an actionable plan over the next year, including long-awaited guidance for schools to implement the sweeping changes.

{snip}

State education officials told the board that earlier this year, schools and districts were directed to start developing and “put on paper” local assessment strategies to be shared publicly during the 2027-28 school year. Depending on the school, those methods can incorporate the Regents exam or be expanded to some combination of class assessments, daily coursework, teacher observations, and real-world tasks.

Separately, the plan authorized on Monday also paves the way for New York to move to one diploma, instead of three categories of diplomas that currently exist: local, Regents, and Regents with Advanced Designation. Graduates can still prove they went the extra mile in high school with certain seals and endorsements on their diplomas.

{snip}

Regents exams will still be used to gauge how students are meeting state standards in core subjects, but not whether they’re ready or not for a high school diploma. {snip}

{snip}

New York is among the last states with mandatory high school exit exams, as research cast doubt on if high-stakes standardized tests were a good predictor of college and career readiness.

{snip}