{"id":186225,"date":"2026-04-05T10:53:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:53:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/186225\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T10:53:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T10:53:07","slug":"good-riddance-to-regents-exams-or-will-ending-them-leave-a-void-for-n-y-grads-the-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/186225\/","title":{"rendered":"Good Riddance to Regents Exams? Or Will Ending Them Leave a Void for N.Y. Grads? \u2013 The 74"},"content":{"rendered":"

Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

Starting in September 2027, New York state public school students will no longer be required to pass five Regents exams in order to graduate. This move will put New York in line with the rest of the country, as only six states remain<\/a> that require exit exams.<\/p>\n

Instead of being asked to score at least a 65%<\/a> on tests of English Language Arts, mathematics, social studies, science and one optional exam, New York students will be assessed using Portrait of a Graduate<\/a> standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is yet unclear as to who will be evaluating whether they can be considered:<\/p>\n

academically prepared<\/p>\n

creative innovators<\/p>\n

critical thinkers<\/p>\n

effective communicators<\/p>\n

global citizens<\/p>\n

reflective and future-focused<\/p>\n

It is also unclear what the criteria for succeeding in each category will be.<\/p>\n

When I asked parent subscribers to my NYC School Secrets<\/a> mailing list how they felt about the shift, the answers split starkly into two camps.<\/p>\n

There were those who cheered. Josh Kross, father of two high schoolers and one graduate, wrote, \u201cRegents are outdated. Good riddance.\u201d Moria Herbst added, \u201cOther states don\u2019t have them. Certainly not in Massachusetts, where I grew up. And Massachusetts does just fine!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply in favor of moving away from a standardized testing model,\u201d said E.J., the Washington Heights parent of a first grader. \u201cWhile Portrait of a Graduate is still being worked on as to how it will actually function, I\u2019m encouraged by the idea and the possibility of it being a more complete picture of the human we\u2019re sending out into the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other parents, however, were less enthused.<\/p>\n

\u201cPortrait of a Graduate is so fuzzy as to be meaningless,\u201d wrote Rachel Fremmer, dismissively. \u201cI didn\u2019t think standards could be lowered any further, but they have been.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like a process that will make things more subjective for teachers, and thus less fair for many students,\u201d opined Marina. \u201cThis seems like a vague requirement that will allow parents with resources even more leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RelatedMany States Picked Diploma Pathways Over HS Exit Exams. Did Students Benefit?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Yiatin Chu, mom of a ninth grader, went even further, saying, \u201cFor those who criticize the Regents as a low bar\/waste of time, why aren\u2019t we improving it and making it more rigorous instead? Portrait of a Graduate is aspirational \u2014 over 40% of eighth grade students are entering high school not reading at grade level. I see the change to these graduation metrics for HS graduation as a way for the system to push kids out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York City already faces the issues of straight A students being unable to perform equally well \u2014 or even pass<\/a> \u2014 state elementary and middle school tests, not to mention high school Regents exams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout objective tests, there is no way to gauge what kids are actually learning,\u201d Diane Rubenstein predicted. \u201cThis will allow the (Department of Education) to give kids nothing in the classroom. This will give (them) cover to not teach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRemoving this requirement dilutes education standards even further,\u201d agreed AW. \u201cIt plays very well into the current administration\u2019s program of \u2018equity,\u2019 aka \u2018mediocrity for all.\u2019 It disincentivizes kids from learning and teaches them that if something is hard, just protest and it will be removed from your path, even to your detriment.\u201d<\/p>\n

For many parents, the perceived lowering of standards will hurt city students when it comes to competing not just nationally, but internationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf USA high schools become less competitive, that\u2019s not good for the next generation,\u201d Jenny worried, while Ella added, \u201cOur kids will fall behind other countries. We are already falling behind in the world. My kids cannot compete with foreign students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the states<\/a> that currently have high-school exit exams in place, New Jersey ranked No. 2 in the country for educational achievement for 2025, Virginia was No. 13, Ohio was No. 15, Florida was No. 19, Texas No. 31 and Louisiana No. 35. (Massachusetts, which got rid of its exit exams in 2025, is, as noted above, ranked No. 1. However, that ranking was achieved while the state still had its exit exam up through last year.)<\/p>\n

In New York, while students will no longer be required to sit for Regents exams in order to graduate, they will still have the option of taking them in order to earn a Regents or an Advanced Regents diploma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This could have the effect of widening the gaps between students, rather than improving equity. Colleges and employers will be able to see who earned a Regents diploma and who opted to bypass established standards via a more subjective metric, which could imply less academic rigor.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

RelatedHow New York\u2019s Bid to Reduce Graduation Requirements Could Backfire<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Like those rejected from colleges that went test optional, then reinstated<\/a> SAT\/ACT scores because they realized those were a reliable predictor of applicants\u2019 capabilities, students who choose not to take the Regents exams could find themselves negatively perceived and penalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the growing pressure to move away from standardized testing, but we still need a meaningful way to measure student progress and evaluate our schools,\u201d ventured Stephanie Cuba, the mother of children in seventh and ninth grades. \u201cEducation policy should be deliberate and comprehensive, not a series of reactive decisions. If you\u2019re going to dismantle the old system, you need a clear, credible plan to replace it. Without that, we\u2019re operating without a compass.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right now, with Profile of a Graduate details vague and proof of rigorous standards nonexistent<\/a>, New York risks graduating multiple cohorts whose achievements will not be properly valued. The repercussions might follow them for years.<\/p>\n

Did you use this article in your work?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We\u2019d love to hear how The 74\u2019s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us how<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Starting in September…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[18281,69758,9,24,11,10,49,51,50,299,74737],"class_list":{"0":"post-186225","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-commentary","9":"tag-high-school-graduation","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-city","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-new-york-state","15":"tag-new-york-state-headlines","16":"tag-new-york-state-news","17":"tag-opinion","18":"tag-parent-voice"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}