{"id":356110,"date":"2026-09-24T21:58:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T21:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/356110\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T21:58:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T21:58:26","slug":"what-nyc-students-can-expect-if-the-state-scraps-regents-requirements-for-graduation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/356110\/","title":{"rendered":"What NYC Students Can Expect if the State Scraps Regents Requirements for Graduation"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was originally published<\/a>\u00a0by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at\u00a0ckbe.at\/newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New York City high school juniors, do you know what you\u2019ll need to get a diploma next year?<\/p>\n

If state officials move ahead with a plan to scrap Regents exams<\/a> as graduation requirements in June, you won\u2019t need to pass those tests anymore. But the city won\u2019t yet have new assessments in place.<\/p>\n

That means students in the Class of 2028 would only need to pass their required classes to graduate, a city Education Department official said this week.<\/p>\n

The same graduation rules would apply to current high school freshmen and sophomores, an Education Department spokesperson confirmed. Last school year, there were roughly 212,000 students in grades 9-11 in city public high schools, according to city data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The remarks at a Tuesday City Council hearing offered the most clarity to date on what city schools and students can expect during the \u201cpurgatory period<\/a>\u201d between the expected end of the Regents graduation requirement next year and the implementation of new graduation requirements for the Class of 2031. Those changes<\/a> will bring new credit requirements, a new diploma and different kinds of assessments to measure the six qualities state officials say every student needs to graduate. But what those assessments will look like is not yet clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not expected next year to stand up a one-for-one replacement for the Regents exams,\u201d Katie Hansen, the Education Department\u2019s executive director of academic policy and systems, said during the public hearing.<\/p>\n

If the state votes to eliminate the Regents requirement in June 2027, next year\u2019s seniors will graduate if they complete their 44 required credits<\/a>, Hansen added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin that, there\u2019s of course many ways of showing their learning to earn their credit,\u201d she said, \u201cbut there won\u2019t be a separate system of assessments that students have to complete to meet graduation requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students can continue taking Regents exams to earn an advanced designation on their diploma, but they won\u2019t need to pass the tests to graduate, officials said. The state is working with the federal education department on separate standardized exams students will take to satisfy federal accountability requirements.<\/p>\n

The shift to a credit-based graduation system would temporarily return the city to the emergency policy that state officials adopted during the COVID pandemic, when many Regents exams were canceled<\/a> and students could satisfy graduation requirements by passing the course tied to the exam. That shift significantly boosted graduation rates<\/a> for students with disabilities and students learning English, but sparked concern among some advocates that students were graduating without the knowledge and skills they need.<\/p>\n

Eric Dinowitz, the chair of the City Council\u2019s education committee and a former Bronx high school teacher who said he supported the broader idea of shifting away from the Regents requirements, expressed concern that the interim period could turn into a graduation free-for-all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a replacement of equal or more rigor, it\u2019s going to turn into a checklist,\u201d he said. Education Department leaders \u201cmight say we\u2019re getting pressure to increase our graduation rates, just do whatever you can to pass the kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advocates Warn Against Ditching Regents Before New Assessments Are Ready<\/p>\n

State education officials have been working for years on a plan to phase out the Regents requirements<\/a> \u2014 one of the few remaining test-based graduation requirements in the country. Officials have argued that the exam requirements don\u2019t meaningfully improve student learning<\/a>, can impede the most vulnerable students and unnecessarily restrict what schools can teach.<\/p>\n

In the long term, state officials are asking districts to design their own alternative assessments to measure the six core skills students will need after graduation, including being critical thinkers and global citizens \u2014 what the state calls the \u201cPortrait of a Graduate.\u201d<\/a> Examples could include capstone presentations or other performance-based assessments used by schools in the New York performance standards consortium<\/a>, vocational certifications that show knowledge of a specific skill, or completion of rigorous programs like the International Baccalaureate<\/a> or college-level courses.<\/p>\n

But those new assessment systems are expected to take years to create.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, state officials have offered little guidance<\/a> on how districts and schools should measure whether students are ready to graduate when Regents exams are no longer required.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, state officials said districts will come up with their own \u201cassessment strategies\u201d to test students while the new requirements are phasing in.<\/p>\n

JP O\u2019Hare, a spokesperson for the state Education Department, described the changes as \u201cintentionally a phased transition.\u201d He said state learning standards, current credit requirements, local assessments and statewide accountability will remain in place while the department works with districts to fully implement the Portrait of a Graduate.<\/p>\n

State officials have offered some broad guidance<\/a> about creating assessment strategies and say there is more to come.<\/p>\n

Zachary Warner, the assistant commissioner in the Office of State Assessment, encouraged districts and schools in a February webinar to begin experimenting with new kinds of assessments now rather than \u201cwaiting to start until we have everything perfectly in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

But advocates said that guidance is coming too late \u2014 and questioned why state officials are lifting the Regents requirement before a new assessment system is developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil there\u2019s that clarity, until districts have local assessment strategies in place, it makes no sense to get rid of the Regents exam requirement,\u201d said Jeff Smink, the deputy director of policy and advocacy for Ed-Trust New York.<\/p>\n

The short-term changes could \u201cmake it look like more students are graduating,\u201d he added, \u201cbut we\u2019re going to have even less of an idea if they\u2019re actually prepared or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Elsen-Rooney is a reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Michael at melsen-rooney@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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