{"id":870293,"date":"2026-06-16T03:43:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T03:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/870293\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T03:43:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T03:43:54","slug":"lots-of-buzzwords-little-clarity-ny-unveils-new-graduation-diploma-framework","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/870293\/","title":{"rendered":"Lots of buzzwords, little clarity: NY unveils new graduation diploma framework"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat New York\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a> to get essential news about NYC\u2019s public schools delivered to your inbox.<\/p>\n

For years, New York officials have been talking about what it should take to earn a high school diploma as the state gradually moves away from standardized Regents exams. But they have shared few details about how a new system would work.<\/p>\n

On Monday, they touted a new \u201ccompetency-based\u201d model<\/a> as part of the state\u2019s broader effort to phase out the Regents<\/a>, which current ninth and 10th graders do not need to pass to graduate, under the state\u2019s current timeline. The new graduation measures are expected to be fully phased in by the 2029-30 school year.<\/p>\n

Under the new framework, the state would overhaul credit requirements that specify the number of hours of instruction students receive in each subject, a change officials said would free students up for projects, work-based learning, and dual-enrollment programs. It could allow schools and local districts to think more creatively about how to assess students using portfolios, performances, and other measures beyond tests and grades<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Angelique Johnson-Dingle, a deputy commissioner in the state Education Department, referred to traditional school schedules, in which students move between classes at set times, as an outdated \u201cfactory model\u201d of education during a presentation to the state Board of Regents.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is about time for us to rethink this factory model and to provide districts with the support to transform antiquated structures, reimagine the use of time and space, and refocus on deep, authentic, connected learning,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

But state officials have not offered a detailed vision of what the competency-based approach would look like and indicated local districts and schools would have flexibility in how they implement it. Officials have also yet to explain what specific graduation measures will replace the Regents exams. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s well-intentioned, \u201d said Jeff Smink, the deputy director of the advocacy group Ed-Trust New York. He said the state\u2019s explanation of the competency-based approach involved \u201ca hell of a lot of buzzwords, but not a lot of detail on what it would look like in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many states have adopted competency-based education policies to varying degrees, often because of a belief that students need to be prepared for a changing economy. However, there is limited evidence that the approach boosts student performance and it can be tricky to implement. Officials in Maine wound up rolling back a similar initiative<\/a> after local districts had trouble defining proficiency and teachers struggled to communicate how students would be assessed.<\/p>\n

Board of Regents members unhappy with lack of detailed plans<\/p>\n

Several members of the Board of Regents said they were excited by the competency-based approach. But some also expressed frustration that there were few specifics about how it fit with new graduation requirements that will replace Regents exams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe teachers are saying to me, \u2018I don\u2019t know what this means, and I do not know how to prepare for it,\u2019\u201d said Regent Hasoni Pratts, who represents Brooklyn. \u201cThis presentation today, I don\u2019t think gave them a little bit more clarity on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pratts noted that her own ninth-grade son is confused about whether he needs to pass Regents exams to graduate. \u201cHe\u2019s asked me, \u2018Do I take the Regents now, or do I not take the Regents?\u201d<\/p>\n

We’re on a need-to-know basis.<\/p>\n

Every weekday morning, Chalkbeat New York is bringing thousands of subscribers the news on public schools and education policy that they need to start their day. Sign up for our free newsletter to join them.<\/p>\n

State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa acknowledged some questions around the competency-based approach and stressed that more information would eventually be shared by state officials, local districts, and even Regents themselves. Students would still be required to master state learning standards in civics, math, science, and other subjects, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we\u2019re going to have many, many questions as we go through this, but the idea is that we do have to change,\u201d Rosa said. The state is soliciting feedback on the framework over the summer and final changes must be approved by the Board of Regents. <\/p>\n

Even without clear guidance on the new competency-based framework, state officials encouraged school districts to begin experimenting with different ways of assessing students and boosting access to work-based learning in the meantime. <\/p>\n

Other members of the board raised questions about the workload involved for educators in transitioning to the competency-based approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the concept and the idea is wonderful,\u201d said Regent Susan Mittler, who represents several upstate counties. But if a teacher is pursuing more ambitious projects with larger classes, \u201cHow do I get everything graded?\u201d Mittler wondered. \u201cHow do I make sure that all the students working on a capstone project have access to me when they have a problem?\u201d<\/p>\n

Some advocates also raised questions about how the state will make sure that the approach doesn\u2019t lead to uneven expectations in different schools and districts across New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already have too many districts that are simply passing students \u2014 particularly students of color from low-income backgrounds \u2014 even though they\u2019re not prepared,\u201d Smink said. \u201cThis just raises a lot of both equity and rigor concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

State officials vowed to release \u201ccommon criteria\u201d for demonstrating each of the competencies and other guardrails to ensure rigor across the state. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not about lowering standards,\u201d said Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young. \u201cThis is about redefining how all of our students meet the standard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alex Zimmerman is a senior reporter for Chalkbeat New York, covering NYC public schools. Contact Alex at azimmerman@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat New York\u2019s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC\u2019s public schools delivered…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":870294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,354180,354179,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-870293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-consortium","tag-leaders-high-school","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116757729433851519","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}