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Panel proposes sweeping changes to high school graduation requirements in New York State

One of the chief findings was that regents tests and other exams were "no longer sufficient assessments" for graduation.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — An education commission has recommended sweeping changes to high school graduation rules in New York State, presenting its findings to the Board of Regents on Monday.

One of the chief findings was that regents tests and other exams were "no longer sufficient assessments" for graduation.

While panel members insisted the recommendations are not aimed at lowering standards, they do propose eliminating many of the standards that have been used for years to determine if a student has proficiently mastered subjects.

Proposals include eliminating the once prestigious regents diploma and instead issuing a similar diploma to all graduates, although they could come with special endorsements or certificates.

The panel, however, did not recommend dropping the regents exams entirely.

Panel members recommend that students get to choose more of their classes, with more electives like theater or personal finance. Proficiency in those subjects would be demonstrated in "whatever way worked best for them".

In recent years, many students in the public school system were unable to earn a diploma because they couldn't pass the regents exams.

But the aim to give students more alternate ways to graduate doesn't please longtime Buffalo parent advocate Sam Radford, who sees it as education officials manifesting ways to cover their own failures instead of being accountable for student learning.

The panel also recommends that students, if they demonstrate some sort of trauma in their life that prevents them from completing work, could be given a diploma anyway.

The panel also recommends more of an emphasis on career and technical education, and that teachers be trained in and follow the principles of "culturally responsive teaching", which incorporate students’ cultural identities and lived experiences into the classroom. 

In all, there were a dozen recommendations made to the Board of Regents.

"We will spend some time in obviously cataloging these recommendations...looking at each recommendation and the implication and the work that has to be attached to it." said NYS Education Commissioner Betty Rosa "Some of it is going to have regulatory, financial... it's even going to have professional development attached to it," she said.

More simply put, the Department of Education will need time to assess the cost of implementing any or all of the recommendations, if state education law has to be changed to accommodate them, or how long it will take to train teachers in new ways of assessing students.

This will help establish which of the recommendations may be implemented as early as next year, and which might take longer to adopt.

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