Fostering Public Debate: Do you know what the Board of Regents is planning?

On Thursday, Sept. 19, I was astonished to find myself the sole member of the public participating in a hearing at the district BOCES office on the New York State Regents’ proposals to change the state’s high school graduation requirements that the Regents will vote on at its November meeting. Where were all the parents, I wondered, since the proposed changes represent a radical departure in the purpose of schooling and the requirements to earn a high-school diploma. Given the impact these changes will have not just on student outcomes, but on parents’ and employers’ expectations of graduates, and college preparedness, it is essential for all those affected to understand what is at stake.

The first Transformation is to adopt the “Portrait of a Graduate,” which requires a student to demonstrate proficiency in each component of the “portrait.” But only one component—“demonstrating literacy across all content areas”—has any reference to substantive knowledge and is far too vague to mean anything. Graduates must also “demonstrate proficiency in cultural competence, social-emotional competence, innovative problem-solving, critical thinking, effective communication, and global citizenship.” No objective definition of “cultural” or “social-emotional competence” or “global citizenship” exists; they are purely partisan, highly politicized terms. (What about competence in American citizenship?) In fact, the entire “Vision” is based on the Regents’ and the New York State Education Department’s “shared commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion” over factual learning.

The second Transformation would “redefine” the credits required for graduation by enabling students to achieve them “in a number of different ways,” such as “service-based learning experiences” and “participation in the arts.” What criteria will be used to measure these new credits and who will set the standards for achieving them? Since service-based learning experiences will be different and each one evaluated by a different teacher, subjective judgments are unavoidable; the objectivity of standardized tests will be lost.

The third Transformation, the only one relating to existing subject-matter Regents exams, would make those exams purely optional, no longer a requirement for graduation. Under the new dispensation, while students would still be required to take “state-level assessments” of their learning that federal law requires in order to track their progress, any such assessments would be “decoupled” from requirements for a diploma. (Some exam-taking would be necessary given the impossibility of demonstrating how far “service-based learning” or participating in the arts promoted a student’s academic learning.) The passage of Regents exams in the basic subject areas of math, science, social studies and English Language Arts would be an option but would no longer be required for a high school diploma. Thus, a major incentive for students to study those subjects intensively will be lost.

The fourth Transformation (already implicit in the third) would collapse New York State’s longstanding distinction between “local” and “Regents-advanced” diplomas (with the latter denoting college readiness) into a single diploma, to which local districts could “add additional seals and endorsements.”

Is this the “portrait” that New York parents envision for their children? Or don’t we expect students not only to become literate, but also to be sufficiently schooled in subjects like math, science, and history to equip them for success in the workforce and/or higher education? Above all, must we not equip them to become thoughtful American citizens, since, contrary to the Portrait, there is no such thing as a global political regime to which they can belong?

Although the Regents’ project is couched in terms of “equity,” the real losers from this neglect of substantive content, including an end to requiring the Regents content exams to earn a diploma, will be those students whose families are least likely to be able to supply what the schools fail to—the skills and knowledge necessary for college and jobs. Raising the level of all students’ learning in academic subjects, thereby preparing them for success in life as workers, parents, and citizens—is a truer path to “equity” than eliminating all objective criteria for assessing what they learn.

There is indeed a real need to revamp New York’s system of public education. This need is demonstrated by the fact that while New York has spent more per student than any other state since 2008 (36 percent more than neighboring Massachusetts—$29,871 versus $21,906 as of school year 2021-22, the most recent federal data available, and almost double the national average, $15,633), its scores on the National Assessment for Educational Progress are below the national average. The Bay State, by contrast, posted the highest scores in the nation on the NAEP.

New York’s 17-member Board of Regents is chosen by a joint resolution of the state legislature, one member from each judicial district. Members can serve an unlimited number of five-year terms, and the governor has no appointment or veto power. To whom are the Regents accountable? The Regents regularly override the governor’s education agenda. By contrast, in two-thirds of the states, the governor is the appointing authority (although legislative approval of his nominees is often required), and the number of terms that state school board members may serve is limited. The Regents’ lack of accountability and poor student performance point to the need for radical “transformation” in the way New York’s education policy is made.

Given the serious deficiencies identified in the Regents’ proposals that will inevitably lead to poorer student outcomes and the short timeline for approving them with hearings having been completed, the governor and the legislature should require the Regents to start over. And the time has come to consider altering the procedures for filling Regents positions that would ensure greater accountability to the public, via the governor.

While hearings have been completed, the NYS Department of Education encourages public comments until Oct. 6 using the following links:

Opportunities

*Adopting the Portrait of a Graduate: https://tejoin.com/scroll/373468988

*Redefining Credit: https://tejoin.com/scroll/464256570

*Sunsetting Diploma Assessment Requirement: https://tejoin.com/scroll/732778229

*Moving to One Diploma: https://tejoin.com/scroll/464951822

Challenges

*Adopting the Portrait of a Graduate: https://tejoin.com/scroll/428504664

*Redefining Credit: https://tejoin.com/scroll/897843334

*Sunsetting Diploma Assessment Requirement: https://tejoin.com/scroll/850376624

*Moving to One Diploma: https://tejoin.com/scroll/172677874

Additional questions

*Defining the Components of the Portrait of a graduate: https://qualtricsxmxw226b54p.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_exGkf5VQqehjHeu

*Expanding Learning Experiences: https://tejoin.com/scroll/653865727

*Financial Implications: https://tejoin.com/scroll/401682741

What else does the Department need to address? https://tejoin.com/scroll/887980627

Roberta Rubel Schaefer, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Fellow at the Empire Center for Public Policy and was a member of the Massachusetts Board of Education from 1996-2007. She now lives in Rye Brook.