N.Y. to phase out Regents exams as high school graduation requirement by 2027

The Class of 2027 is expected to be the last in New York who need to pass Regents exams to earn a high school diploma, state education officials announced Monday.

The projected timeline is part of a $11.5 million, five-year plan presented to the Board of Regents to rework graduation measures, including to drop the high-stakes tests as a requirement. Other changes on the horizon would consolidate three types of diplomas into one, adjust credit requirements, and broaden the skills and knowledge students need to graduate.

“While Regents exams will be one of many ways for students to demonstrate mastery of the state’s rigorous learning standards, there will no longer be a separate assessment requirement to graduate high school,” said Shannon Logan, director of standards, instruction and educational technology at the New York State Education Department.

Each of the proposals require approval by the Board of Regents before they can go into effect.

For a standard diploma, current students must pass at least four Regents exams and a state-approved assessment, and meet certain credit requirements. New York is one of just a handful of states that still requires students pass standardized tests to graduate, after research has found little evidence of their efficacy.

The Regents exams administered in January 2028 would be the first that students are not required to pass in order to graduate.

In feedback collected by the department, respondents said the end of the diploma requirement could provide an opportunity to delve deeper into curriculum and not feel hamstrung into teaching toward a test. Instead, teachers pointed to internships, capstone projects and portfolios as among the alternative ways students can demonstrate an understanding of the material.

“What we’re looking for more ways for students to show what they know, rather than more requirements,” Logan added.

This school year, state education officials would start the process by allowing eligible students to request an exemption from the June Regents exams due to “major life events.” The full proposal would come before the board for a vote likely after the new year.

As the state shifts to administering only one diploma, students starting high school now would still be able to earn an “advanced designation,” until the department adds new seals and endorsements for graduates to showcase their skills. Education officials are also eyeing possible requirements in financial literacy, climate change, and career and technical education.

The plan would be phased in by fall 2029, when the Education Department would introduce new assessments and a statewide template for transcripts, aligned with updated learning standards.

But implementation will be key to ensure all students are held to the same expectations and leave high school ready for college and careers.

“What’s this going to look like for us?” Regent Roger Catania asked during the meeting. “I also realize that with the phased-in strategy that you’ve just outlined, you don’t have all those answers yet.

“And so, I’m not asking you for specific answers, but I do want to put out there a question that might come up,” he added. “How a school would implement this in terms of courses? You know, what will they teach?”

David Bloomfield, a professor of education law and policy at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, said the Regents exams have become a “flawed guardrail that schools are used to depending on.”

But pressure on schools to increase graduation rates could shortchange students their education, if teachers and principals let them graduate before they are ready, he warned.

“They pay lip service to accountability and rigor and standards, but they haven’t filled in the blanks about how that would be enforced at the state level,” Bloomfield said. “And the state just has a lousy record of maintaining district accountability.”

State education officials first proposed dropping the Regents requirement and other changes to high school graduation measures in June. Their plan was based on a series of recommendations made by a key commission of teachers, administrators, parents, researchers, and business and higher education interests last fall.