The state is right to acknowledge that Regents exams are not the right benchmark for all students
New York state has a long and proud history of administering rigorous subject-area examinations, allowing its most advanced students to demonstrate mastery of demanding academic content. For the last 20 years, the state has required all students to pass five of these exams—later reduced to four—to earn a high school diploma. The state’s Board of Regents is poised to eliminate that requirement. Critics argue that to do so would mean dumbing down standards.
That criticism is wrong. Doing away with the tests in their current configuration could serve to restore rigor and meritocracy to New York’s high schools, while also ensuring that a more diverse array of students, including those who are not college-bound, are positioned for success in early adulthood.
For over 100 years, the Regents exams were not administered to every student. They aimed to measure the achievement of the highest performers—those deemed capable of college preparatory work. In New York City, home to the nation’s largest public-school system, these exams, like the SAT, were part of the ladder of social mobility for poor, immigrant, and first-generation American students. A “Regents diploma” signified high achievement across a broad range of college prep coursework through four years of high school. Other students received a “local diploma,” signifying that they had attended high school for four years and passed the required number of courses.
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Ray Domanico is a senior fellow and director of education policy at the Manhattan Institute.
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