A lesser role for Regents exams gains support, but some worry about eroding graduation standards

 A state advisory commission's controversial proposal to reduce the role of Regents exams has won endorsements from groups representing schoolteachers, superintendents and school board trustees, while others have denounced the plan as a threat to academic standards.

The plan, released Monday, would combine use of the traditional exams, versions of which have been in place since the late 1800s, with newly created "performance-based" assessments. Details are not spelled out in the commission's report, and state officials acknowledge that the effort could require three years or more to complete. 

Calls for testing change are part of a broader planned overhaul of state standards for high school graduation. 

Educational leaders voicing support of proposed changes include Robert Schneider, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, representing more than 670 boards and more than 5,200 trustees. Also in support is Melinda Person, president of the New York State United Teachers union, which has nearly 700,000 members. 

"The recommendations of the Regents Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures offer a promising direction for New York's students and their schools," said Charles Dedrick, executive director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, which represents more than 875 administrators. 

Dedrick added, however, that "many details will need to be resolved in the months ahead to translate the commission's recommendations into practical policies." 

The idea of backing away from uniform, standardized state tests troubles some educators. Skeptics ask whether a shift to less traditional assessment could create a situation in which local school districts essentially set their own standards, some less rigorous than others. 

"That's nebulous, and would leave the door open to all manner of abuse," said Michael Cohen, of Brightwaters, a retired school superintendent and math consultant.

Others see the movement toward "performance" assessment as an opportunity to highlight student talent that cannot be measured by pen-and-paper tests alone. 

Changes already underway

Port Washington schools Superintendent Michael Hynes said his district created a task force on innovation a few weeks ago to consider the ways schools teach and assess students.

The task force, which is expected to present recommendations in the spring, is researching practices nationally and internationally, including alternative achievement measures such as allowing students to self-assess.

“That's what they do in Finland,” Hynes said. “They teach students explicitly how to self-assess, where the teacher is the facilitator. … It's about students being active in not only their learning but also them figuring out if their learning is sufficient or not and giving them the skills to do so.”

In Comsewogue, which serves Port Jefferson Station, Superintendent Jennifer Quinn said the district began its project-based learning initiative in 2016. The program has expanded every year since, though it was disrupted by pandemic restrictions.

Students are “presenting their knowledge in other ways besides just traditional test-taking,” Quinn said. “They're doing research projects, they're presenting oral projects, they're working with communities.”

Fifth-graders studying ancient civilizations, for example, would research the topic and present to other classes on their grade level to share what they learned — as opposed to what used to be a more textbook-based approach, Boyle Road Elementary School Principal Nicole Sooknanan said.

In the past, “Students would read that chapter or that unit in the textbook, they may answer some comprehension questions and have a written paper test,” Sooknanan said. “This gives them other opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the topic.”

At the high school, the approach included connecting students to industry leaders and embedding real-world applications into the classroom, in addition to preparing students for Regents exams, Comsewogue High School Principal Michael Mosca said.

“We're trying to make it so that they're not just getting knowledge for a test,” he said. “They are able to apply that knowledge. This way, it sticks with them more.”

Concerns over history, social studies

New York State currently provides Regents exams in 10 subjects. Students must pass at least four of those tests — in English, math, science and social studies — in order to graduate with Regents diplomas. 

Federal law, on the other hand, requires all states to test high school students in just three subjects: English, math and science. New York education officials cite this as one reason why Regents exams will continue to be administered for the foreseeable future, no matter what other changes are made in the state's testing system. 

There is no federal requirement, however, for state exams in history and social studies. That omission raises concerns for New York's social-studies leaders, who worry that their tests in Global History and U.S. History & Government may face eventual elimination.

Those leaders also voice frustration over the limited information provided by state education officials and commission advisers when they released recommendations Monday. 

"We stand for academic rigor, and the new proposal seems to undermine that, but it's vague, it's hard to understand," said Gloria Sesso, president of the Long Island Council for the Social Studies. The group represents about 1,100 school supervisors and teachers in the region. 

In Albany, state authorities say any changes in testing will include steps aimed at ensuring a degree of uniformity. For example, the advisory commission has called for teachers to be brought in to help set statewide guidelines, or rubrics, for performance-style assessments.

Academic experts note that creation of such assessments can lead to either positive or negative consequences, depending on state policy direction. 

"It can be a bona fide challenge for a student, or it can be any easy way out," said Chester E. Finn Jr., president emeritus of the Fordham Institute, a conservative education think tank based in Washington, D.C. 

One of the most ambitious state efforts to develop performance measures was Vermont's use in the 1990s of portfolios. These were collections of works in writing and other subjects gathered over a semester to measure students' academic achievement.

Behind the effort, which spread statewide, was the idea that portfolios would bring new excitement to classrooms by relieving students of tedious drills for standardized tests. To add objectivity to the program, two teachers rather than one were assigned to rate each student's work. 

Teachers commonly complained, however, that their new rating tasks consumed far more time than grading multiple-choice tests, leaving them unable to complete assignments. In addition, in many cases, scoring turned out to be unreliable.

RAND Corp., a California-based research firm, reported this when it was brought in to evaluate the project and issued its final assessment in 1994. RAND's conclusion: "The Vermont program has been largely unsuccessful so far in meeting its goal of providing high-quality data about student performance."