Forgoing Regents Exams Jeopardizes Educational Progress of New York Students
In a significant shift, the New York State Board of Regents is eliminating its exam-based high school graduation requirements, marking a departure from the traditional academic standards that have been in place for decades.
This decision, announced recently, is part of a broader reform agenda that includes a new "Portrait of a Graduate" standard. This standard emphasizes critical thinking, social-emotional and cultural competence, and "global citizenship" over subject mastery.
The change signifies a move away from a system that requires students to pass Regents exams to graduate. Instead, students will be allowed to demonstrate "proficiency" through service projects, participation in the arts, or portfolios of artistic or scientific work.
This shift in focus is not without precedent. In the 1960s and 1970s, the progressive approach to education, which encourages teachers to serve as "guides on the side" and emphasizes student-constructed projects, gained popularity. However, research has shown that this approach has not always been successful in promoting student learning.
On the other hand, schools like Success Academy, with their focus on high-quality, content-rich books and the teaching of important scientific concepts and historical events, have seen significant success. Success Academy students, on average, perform far better on standardized tests than their Department of Education counterparts and even surpass peers in affluent suburban school systems.
The standards-based reform-and-accountability movement, which included the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002, sought to establish content-rich standards, hold schools and students accountable through testing, and assist underperforming schools. In the first decade after NCLB, student performance improved by at least five points in 22 states in fourth-grade reading and in 47 states in fourth-grade math.
However, the political will to pursue further reform dissipated, leading to a regression in the education system where academic achievement is an afterthought. This is evident in the decline of SAT scores between 1963 and 1982 during the heyday of Dewey-style progressive education in teacher colleges.
The report detailing these changes is based on a recent Manhattan Institute report by Roberta Rubel Schaefer, who was the founder and president of the Worcester Regional Research Bureau and a member of the Massachusetts Board of Education (1996-2007). The report also notes that the persons who developed the 2018 Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework of the New York State Board of Regents are not explicitly named in the provided search results.
These transformations replace objective, comparable academic metrics with obscure, subjective ones. The state will no longer require students to pass Regents exams to graduate, and traditional coursework will no longer be the standard for academic credits. Instead, students will be able to earn credits through work or service projects, participation in the arts, or career and technical programs.
A diploma will no longer signal a baseline level of academic competence but instead report whatever alternative path the student finds most convenient and relevant for his particular interests. The three current diploma types will be replaced by a single diploma for all graduates, with optional "seals" or endorsements added for further achievements.
Starting in the 2027-2028 school year, the Regents exams will become optional. This change, along with the shift towards a more flexible and student-centric education system, is expected to have a significant impact on the future of education in New York State.
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