Regents Exams may become optional in New York

[Langue_doc]

The Regents Exams will no longer be required in New York.

Regents Exams May Become Optional for High School Graduation in New York
The tests had once been seen as a hallmark of academic rigor, but high-stakes graduation tests have fallen out of favor nationally.

Selected paragraphs from the article:

New York could soon stop requiring many high school students to take Regents exams to earn a diploma, a major step in a sweeping overhaul of the state's graduation system as it joins a national movement to rethink high-stakes exit exams.

For generations of New York students, the path to high school graduation has run through the Regents exams, which some students take as early as middle school. Reducing the role the tests play in graduation would be one of the biggest education policy shake-ups for New York in a decade.

On Monday, an advisory group formed by the state's Education Department will recommend that all students be given options other than the exams to prove they have mastered material.

To graduate in New York now, most students earn 22 credits, and pass five Regents exams in subjects like English, math and social studies. The tests — which typically run three hours — shape high school life across New York.

Now, Ms. Rosa said the state wants to tackle graduation "through the lens of students" who have faced barriers in "access and opportunities." Education leaders have signaled support for the recommendations, and if accepted, the plan would immediately become Ms. Rosa's farthest-reaching initiative as commissioner since she was appointed in 2020.

David Steiner, a former New York state education commissioner, said he worries over the "catastrophic disconnect" between students' post-high school plans and their incentives to have mastered material to achieve them.

"That was the great glory of New York's system," he said, adding that in many states, "what used to be called 'failing' is now called 'passing' — and when we stop telling ourselves the truth about how our students are doing, the only people we damage is our students."

Ms. Rosa said New York's planned overhaul is "really, truly not lowering standards" and would simply better address each student's needs.

Standards are already so low especially in the city, that CUNY used to require students to take placement tests in Math, Reading, and Writing, and place them in remedial courses depending on their scores in these tests. I think CUNY decided that remedial courses were bad for students' self-esteem, so incoming students are no longer required to take the tests or remedial courses.

Fun times for instructors teaching Freshman Composition.

[marshwiggle]

David Steiner, a former New York state education commissioner, said he worries over the "catastrophic disconnect" between students' post-high school plans and their incentives to have mastered material to achieve them.

"That was the great glory of New York's system," he said, adding that in many states, "what used to be called 'failing' is now called 'passing' — and when we stop telling ourselves the truth about how our students are doing, the only people we damage is our students."

Ms. Rosa said New York's planned overhaul is "really, truly not lowering standards" and would simply better address each student's needs.

When you have to redundantly claim something, it's pretty obvious that you're lying.

Any used car salesman with a name like "Honest John" is someone to watch out for.

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman"

[Hibush]

They are definitely trying to address the students' need to graduate even if they are unable to demonstrate mastery of the material on Regents exams. In particular, the needs of students who are unfamiliar with using the exam format for demonstrating mastery.

[mythbuster]

I thought you could earn a diploma without the passing the Regents exam? Mr. Buster grew up in NY state and he remembers that getting "Regent's Diploma" was a step up from a regular one. It essentially signaled that you took a college prep style curriculum.  Is that no longer the case?

[dismalist]

I growed up in NY City and took Regents Exams left, right, and center many years ago. The formats of the various exams were discussed in class thoroughly, so that should not be a problem.

It's not that you don't need Regents exams to graduate. It's the score on the exams that matter. E.g., one can appeal for a lower passing grade after certain conditions have been met. It's all very complicated. To simplify, already standards are flexible enough that virtually anyone can graduate High School.

Here are the weeds. Don't get lost. :-) Regents Requirements

The grading of Regents exams was already changed in the 90's. The difficulty of questions was considered in awarding points. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but the determination of degree of difficulty is clearly a political question among the determiners.

I put this most recent development as just another incremental step in the hollowing out of standards. It gets to the point that the Regents exams are meaningless. Fine: Just abolish them.

[Langue_doc]

They are definitely trying to address the students' need to graduate even if they are unable to demonstrate mastery of the material on Regents exams. In particular, the needs of students who are unfamiliar with using the exam format for demonstrating mastery.

From the article:

Teachers spend many hours preparing their classes. Some teenagers sit for the exams four or five times until they pass.

Free tutoring and databases of sample tests are available in the local public libraries.

[Wahoo Redux]

I've worked with remedial writing students, and I do wish there were another way to bring these folks up to par.  These classes do eat into their self-confidence, particularly poor students who are already feeling self-conscious and outsider-y, and they were resentful and acted out a great deal. 

I personally never liked the idea of standardized tests. 

[marshwiggle]

I've worked with remedial writing students, and I do wish there were another way to bring these folks up to par.  These classes do eat into their self-confidence, particularly poor students who are already feeling self-conscious and outsider-y, and they were resentful and acted out a great deal. 

I personally never liked the idea of standardized tests. 

I grew up in Quebec, where there are provincial exams for all courses in the last two years of high school, which means all of the ones required for graduation. 50% of a student's final grade is based on work during the year, and 50% from the provincial exam. It keeps schools honest, so school boards and/or individual teachers can't just decide for themselves what to cover. And since 50% of the grade is from the teacher, it's highly unlikely that a student doing well is going to completely fail due to the provincial exam unless the teacher is fudging the grades (or course content) a lot.

[Hibush]

I've worked with remedial writing students, and I do wish there were another way to bring these folks up to par.  These classes do eat into their self-confidence, particularly poor students who are already feeling self-conscious and outsider-y, and they were resentful and acted out a great deal. 

I personally never liked the idea of standardized tests. 

If the problem is that they write poorly, isn't it better to make them feel included while they are learning to write better than it is to avoid using tests that reveal their need to learn better writing. It seems like removing the tests prevents the necessary remedy and chances to lead a better life.

[ciao_yall]

I've worked with remedial writing students, and I do wish there were another way to bring these folks up to par.  These classes do eat into their self-confidence, particularly poor students who are already feeling self-conscious and outsider-y, and they were resentful and acted out a great deal. 

I personally never liked the idea of standardized tests.

In California they decided to deal with it by getting rid of all remedial English classes. There! Problem solved.

Sort of... actually, overall throughput numbers went way up. More students enrolled in FYC and while failure rates did increase, the number of successful students increased overall.

Still, how can students reinforce those skills when the rest of their classes are online with roboquizzes?

[jimbogumbo]

[
In California they decided to deal with it by getting rid of all remedial English classes. There! Problem solved.

Sort of... actually, overall throughput numbers went way up. More students enrolled in FYC and while failure rates did increase, the number of successful students increased overall.

The literature is full of similar results. Most (as I recall) did not even have the increase failure rates.