NY Must Not Abandon Regents Exams Without a Better Measure of Readiness

The Board of Regents took another dangerous step this week: one that could leave New York’s 1 million high school and middle school students less prepared for college and the workforce. 

The discussion on NY Inspires, the state’s ambitious plan to overhaul secondary education, centered on the decision to decouple the state’s Regents exams as a graduation requirement, beginning in the 2027-28 school year. Students will still take the exams, administered since 1865, to meet federal accountability rules. But graduation will no longer be tied to scores.

While EdTrust-New York supports additional flexibility for graduation requirements, we are deeply concerned the state is moving forward with this change without putting an alternative system in place to measure whether students are ready for success after high school. 

Now is not the time for New York to weaken the state’s only objective measure of high school readiness. Doing so could mask the deep challenges facing our schools and students while making it even harder for parents, employers and colleges to determine whether students have the skills they need to succeed after graduation.