NEW YORK: Students Would Still Take Regents Exams Under Graduation Overhaul

New York high school students would still take Regents exams under the state's planned graduation overhaul, even as passing those exams would no longer be a condition of earning a diploma.

The distinction matters for families preparing for the NY Inspires initiative: removing an exam's role in an individual student's graduation does not remove statewide testing or the state's learning standards.

The New York State Education Department says high school students will continue to take local assessments and state assessments required by federal law. Those results help educators, families and state officials understand how students are performing against learning standards.

Spectrum News 1 reported that the Board of Regents' latest update puts the target for a new secondary assessment system in spring 2030. Until that system is in place, Regents examinations will continue to meet federal assessment and accountability requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act, according to a board statement quoted by Spectrum.

The department's published timeline proposes ending diploma assessment requirements in the 2027-28 school year. That would separate the requirement to take state tests from the requirement to pass particular exams to receive a diploma.

NYSED's guidance says proposed changes are not final until approved by the Board of Regents. Students and families should therefore follow the requirements for their own entering class rather than assume current graduation rules have already changed.

The broader plan would give students more ways to demonstrate what they know, including learning experiences tied to the state's Portrait of a Graduate. State officials say the aim is to keep academic expectations while allowing more than one way to show proficiency.