New York is changing its graduation requirements. Teachers have questions.

Register Chalkbeat’s free daily New York newsletter to keep up with New York public schools.

Teachers in New York are eagerly awaiting new details about the state’s efforts to change high school graduation requirements, which officials are expected to release on Monday.

Many people have praised the proposed removal of Regents exams from diploma requirements, but questions remain about what the new system will look like in practice, raising some concerns about potential inequities in the state’s schools and unequal academic standards.

“Everyone is asking, ‘What will this look like?’” said Kiri Soares, director of Urban Assembly’s Young Women’s Math and Science Institute in Brooklyn. “The only thing I will say about the Regents standards is that there is an element of equity in them, which is that there is an expectation that all children must meet that bar. So sometimes I worry, “What does a rod replacement involve?”

Research has shown that New York is one of the few states that requires final exams little evidence demonstrating that such exams improve student achievement. A rite of passage for New York high schools for more than a century, the Regents Exams have long faced criticism from students and teachers who believe they are not a sufficient measure of student learning.

Under upcoming renovation As outlined in June, students will no longer be required to pass the state’s Regents exams to obtain a high school diploma. Instead, exams would be one of many options to demonstrate proficiency in key areas, including project-based assessments, on-the-job learning experiences, and more.

While many people support giving students more options, questions remain about what this change might mean for individual schools.

“We have consistently said from the beginning that this endeavor is about raising the bar for all, not lowering the bar for some,” said J.P. O’Hare, a spokesman for the state Department of Education. “The plan we will unveil on Monday will be a thoughtful approach and timeline that will enable educators to take stock of their programs to prepare our students for continuous learning, fulfilling careers, and lifelong informed civic engagement.”

Teachers worry about unequal levels of discipline and resources

The full state plan — which will address the regulatory and fiscal impacts of the proposed changes — is the latest step in a multi-year process to overhaul graduation requirements.

Last year, she presented her proposal to the 64-member Blue Ribbon Commission 12 recommendations on updating state high school graduation requirements – including adopting a “graduate portrait” consisting of seven key areas in which students can demonstrate proficiency: critical thinking, effective communication, cultural and social-emotional competence, innovative problem solving, skills reading and writing in various content areas and the status of a “global citizen”.

These recommendations were later synthesized four proposed actions by state education officials, one of which was the abolition of the requirement for students to pass the Regents Examinations.

In many respects, Soares welcomes the state’s efforts to redefine graduation requirements.

“The Regents exams are over 100 years old and measure one type of learning,” she said. “The idea of ​​moving from testing to action – perhaps doing an internship or other experiences – is much more powerful.”

Still, she was concerned that some students might be pushed into tracks perceived as less rigorous, which she said was particularly important for students who already have insufficient opportunities. Soares wondered what measures would be put in place to ensure all students have the same expectations and the support to meet them.

Bobson Wong, a math teacher at Bayside High School who served on the Blue Ribbon Commission, said he was pleased to see that state officials were “really receptive” to input from teachers and students, noting that they spent months gathering feedback in public forums. But he added that it would be crucial for the state to develop policies that were “practical enough to work.”

“One of the issues that has come up repeatedly in the discussions we’ve had at the Commission, as well as in public forums, is who is going to pay for all of this?” Wong said. “Regents Exams are easy to implement. That’s the main reason we still have them.

“If you suddenly say, ‘OK, we’ll do project-based learning assessments instead,’ who manages it, who tracks it all, and who makes sure that all students have equitable access?” he asked.

The proposed changes could raise concerns “that schools and districts will be left to fend for themselves and open the floodgates if students are not adequately prepared for postsecondary education,” said David Bloomfield, professor of education, law and public policy at Brooklyn College and Graduate Center CUNY.

“I think the Regents lost their value as a guarantor of graduate quality a long time ago,” he said. “But really the challenge all along has been: How do we fill this void?”

Some New York schools already use alternative grading methods

Some schools in New York are already using alternative models for testing students’ skills. For more than two decades, a coalition known as the “Performance Standards Consortium” received permission from the state to waive Regents exams except for English.

The consortium model attracted attention sharp support from educators and families. Proponents say performance-based assessments can be as rigorous as exams or even more rigorous while offering a deeper learning experience that better prepares students for higher education and employment.

However, implementing this model may require additional resources and buy-in from school communities, requiring more staff and training than a traditional exam, Bloomfield says.

“The consortium model is a very rigorous standard, and it is unclear how districts across the state will be able to implement this particular pathway,” he said. “Multiple people need to be involved in assessing PBAs (project-based assessments) and helping students develop them.”

Excited at the prospect of bringing consortium elements to her school, Soares said she hopes the state will provide schools with resources based on existing models.

“I don’t want the onus to fall solely on schools to figure out how to do this,” she said. “I would like to receive sources and models of things that have already been checked and approved.”

Steve Lazar, a high school teacher who previously I helped find consortium schools in Manhattan, said the added flexibility would enable meaningful discussions about how best to assess students in school districts across the state. But he wondered whether the same would apply in New York, concerned that the nation’s largest public school system might opt ​​for a top-down approach.

Lazar does not share concerns that the changes could result in unequal levels of rigor across the state’s schools. He argued that the focus on Regents exams sometimes pushes teachers to emphasize rote memorization rather than requiring students to grapple with evidence and reasoning through difficult questions.

“I would by no means consider the current graduation requirements to be rigorous,” he said.

Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter covering New York. Contact him at [email protected].