Somers schools prepare for changes to graduation requirements

SOMERS, N.Y. - Reacting to the state Education Department’s announcement that it was changing high school graduation requirements, Somers school officials are promising to keep everyone up to date on plans to handle new testing alternatives and anything else that might impact local students.

Superintendent Dr. Adam Bronstein and Board of Education President Amanda Kandel both emphasized at the BOE’s Sept. 22 meeting that Regents exams are NOT going away.

Instead, they reported that the state has approved a plan that will “expand” the way students earn high school diplomas – beginning with the Class of 2028.

Current juniors at Somers High School will no longer be required to pass a specific set of Regents exams in order to graduate, they explained.

However, seniors in the Class of 2027 remain subject to current graduation requirements.

Having one unified diploma means that instead of earning different classes of diplomas based on test scores, all qualifying students will receive the same standard state high school diploma.

High-achieving or specialized accomplishments, such as the former “Advanced Designation,’’ will now be awarded as optional seals, honors, or endorsements added to the single diploma.

According to the NYSED, individual districts will have more flexibility to use teacher-designed assessments, classwork, and performance-based projects to establish so-called “student readiness.”

The Regents exams won’t vanish completely but will continue as a statewide measure of student achievement and learning standards.

Passing them, however, will no longer be mandatory for graduation.

It’s a major shift in education policy for the state, which has required Regents tests since 1878 as determinants of student skills in English, social studies, math, and science.

Under the current system, students must pass five Regents exams or approved alternatives such as AP tests in order to graduate.

The argument made for the change was that the tests can pose an unfair obstacle for students with different learning styles, disabilities, or deficits in English proficiency.

In a message to the school community, Bronstein said the state “is still working to determine what graduation requirements will look like in the future but we know that offering multiple pathways to graduation (including one that has Regents exams) is central to this vision.”

Noting that the role of Regents exams will “evolve over time,” Bronstein wrote that they may still be used as measures of student achievement, for state and federal accountability purposes, and/or as part of future diploma seals or endorsements intended to recognize students for advanced levels of academic achievement.

For Somers students, there will be no changes in courses, Regents exam expectations, or graduation pathways, he said.

Bronstein promised that as the state releases additional information, the district will “carefully” review the impact on students and communicate any “necessary updates.”

“We appreciate your partnership and remain committed to ensuring that all students are prepared for success in life beyond Somers High School,” he wrote.

Bronstein advised families interested in learning more about the NYSED’s graduation framework to visit www.nysed.gov/ny-inspires.

They were also encouraged to reach out to the district’s Learning Office or their building administrators if they had any questions.

ACADEMIC STANDARDS ADDRESSED

Kandel also said that it was important for the community “to understand what this decision does and does not mean.”

In a prepared statement, she emphasized that Regents exams were “not going away and academic standards are not being lowered.”

“Rather New York is expanding the way students can demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and readiness for graduation. This shift creates multiple pathways for students to provide competency instead of placing that entire weight of determination on a single test taken on a single day,” Kandel said.

To her that means that every student is “more than a number, more than a score, and more than the results of one exam.”

Kandel said that because the SCSD had been preparing for the change “for quite some time” it was “well positioned to move forward thoughtfully and successfully as additional guidance becomes available from the state.”

That doesn’t mean that parents and educators aren’t anxious about how students’ mastery in core subjects will be measured.

She thanked Bronstein, Tara Kearns, the district’s director of learning – secondary; Somers High School Principal Pete Rodriguez; and Paul Brennan, principal of the middle school, for their efforts to keep the community informed following the NYSED’s Monday, Sept. 14 announcement.

“Open communication and community engagement will remain essential as we navigate the changes together and continue in our commitment to providing every student with opportunities to succeed,” Kandel said.

STATE’S STANCE

The NYSED said the transformation of graduation measures – seen as the next phase of its NY Inspires initiative -- was developed “following extensive statewide stakeholder engagement and the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures.”

Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young Jr. said in a statement that there will now be more opportunities for students to demonstrate “what they know and can do.”

"Advancing this work moves us closer to a more equitable system, one that upholds high expectations for all while ensuring that a student’s zip code, background, or circumstance never determines their opportunities for success," he said.

NYSED Commissioner Betty A. Rosa had a positive word or two to say too.

“NY Inspires is fundamentally about strengthening teaching and learning and creating deeper, more meaningful educational experiences for every student. By maintaining rigorous standards while giving students more opportunities to apply their knowledge, think critically, solve problems, and demonstrate what they know and can do, we are better preparing them for college, careers, civic life, and the future," she said.

Unveiled in November 2024, NY Inspires includes four major buckets: the adoption of the New York State Portrait of a Graduate in 2025; the redefinition of credits and learning experiences; the sunsetting of separate diploma assessment requirements; and the movement to one state high school diploma.

The Portrait of a Graduate highlights six characteristics the state feels all students should demonstrate.

Those include being academically prepared, a creative innovator, a critical thinker, an effective communicator, a global citizen, reflective, and focused on the future.

The NYSED said it’s released initial guidance, a template, and a webinar to support districts “in beginning this work and will continue to provide comprehensive resources as this transformation continues.”

MODERNIZING ACCOUNTABILITY

According to the NYSED, federal law requires statewide high school assessments in English language arts, mathematics, and science, and New York’s federal accountability plan also includes social studies.

The state added that it plans to move forward with the “development of high school accountability assessments specifically designed to provide comparable statewide evidence of student achievement and create opportunities to better measure academic growth.”

Additional changes related to New York’s federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan and secondary accountability system will come before the Board of Regents later this fall.

(ESSA is a comprehensive framework managed by the state to distribute roughly $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion in federal funds annually while holding public schools accountable for student success.)

QUESTIONS REMAIN

Such reassurances don’t mean that some educators still don’t have questions.

According to reports by media outlets such as Gothamist and Chalkbeat New York, there are those that, while agreeing that the Regents exams are flawed, still feel that the state needs to more clearly define the alternative assessment system.

Critics of the shift are also arguing that traditional high-stakes Regents exams serve as a critical benchmark for ensuring academic rigor and student preparedness.

Supporters, on the other hand, argue that moving toward a system with local district assessments, portfolios, performance tasks, and career-connected learning will create a fairer, more modern evaluation system that reflects critical thinking and practical skills.

According to a piece by education reporter Shael Polakow-Suransky published by vitalcitynyc.org and titled “In (Partial) Defense of Retiring N.Y.’s Regents Exam Requirement,” much of the fretting has revolved around grades.

Some are worried that transcripts describing in-class performance might not be as trusted without an exam that “validates the difficulty of the coursework,” the article said, pointing out that “grade inflation is real, and an A in one school may represent very different work from an A in another.”

However, Polakow-Suransky wrote, that doesn’t mean that standardized tests are always the best measure of “whether a student is ready for what comes next.”

University of Chicago researchers tracked more than 55,000 public school graduates who were attending four-year colleges and found that “high school grades predicted college graduation far more accurately than ACT scores, and did so consistently regardless of which high school a student attended.”

“The lesson here is that sustained work over time can tell us things about students that a single exam cannot,” he wrote.