Blue Ribbon Commission recommends alternative graduation requirements

by Kristen Guglielmo Associate Editor

Those who went to school in New York are all too familiar with the Regents exams — the end-of-year state tests administered in a multitude of subjects.

Offered for 145 years, Regents exams became mandatory for graduation in the 1990s. Now, students may again get to choose whether they want to take them.

The NYS Education Department on Monday presented recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission of Graduation Measures to the Board of Regents, said NYS Education Commissioner Betty Rosa in a press release.

The recommendations aim to change graduation requirements so that students could opt to take Regents exams or instead demonstrate their competencies and knowledge through other methods.

“Every student has unique talents, skills, and interests, and a one-size-fits-all approach fails to recognize and nurture these differences,” said Rosa in a press release. “We must remove barriers and facilitate equitable access to education by addressing the individual needs of students, increasing opportunities for workbased learning or college readiness programs, and providing students with practical skills and experiences that enhance their employability and post-secondary education opportunities.”

Instead of offering three separate diplomas — local, Regents and advanced Regents — the state would offer a single diploma with options to add endorsements or seals.

“The commission sought to ensure future graduation requirements are clear and simple while providing rigorous, equitable pathways to meet the needs of all students,” the report said.

Other proposed methods, such as perfor- mance-based assessments and capstone projects, would be used in demonstrating education competency for graduation. The commission also suggested broadening access to career and technical education.

In the press release, Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young Jr. said, “For far too many students, the schooling experience has slowly evolved into a system that all too often stan- dardizes learning options and opportunities, and in many cases, treats differences as issues to be addressed rather than seeing them as learning opportunities and assets ... The Board and I extend our sincere gratitude to the Commission members for the thoughtful recommendations.”

According to the report, the Board of Regents will now have to determine priorities and craft recommended changes to the current system. This step is tentatively slated to be completed by spring 2024.

“Education is not one size fits all,” said Patricia Flores, a PTA member from a Jamaica school. “I was a terrible test-taker, but I’m a smart person. This is good for the many others that were like me.”

“It’s a deterioration of standards. It will harm the future of our children and education system,” said a retired Woodhaven educator. “This, along with lowering standards, might make a future less bright for these students.”

State Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside), chair of the NYC Education Committee, provided the following statement to the Chronicle: “Testing, while imperfect, is an objective metric in the eyes of many parents. The Blue Ribbon Commission agreed, and as part of its thorough evaluation of New York’s graduation requirements, recommended that Regents exams remain as an assessment option.” Q

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