Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A blue ribbon panel has recommended sweeping changes to New York's graduation requirements. While some say this is to reflect today's economy, others fear it's a lowering of standards.
The Board of Regents says the Graduation Measures Initiative is an unprecedented effort bringing together student voices along with a diverse range of stakeholders—including parents, educators, administrators, school support staff, representatives of higher education, and the business community.
The Blue Ribbon Commission created a roadmap for learning-centered education that best meets the needs of every student in New York State and incorporates competency imperatives that provide them with the practical skills needed for the dynamic demands of tomorrow's workforce.
Some of the recommendations include doing away with three types of diplomas, including Regents. But the Regents exam would continue, and including civic responsibility (ethics); cultural competence; financial literacy education; fine and performing arts; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) credit(s); and writing, including writing skills for real-world scenarios in diploma credit requirements.
Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. says, "For far too many students, the schooling experience has slowly evolved into a system that all too often standardizes learning options and opportunities, and in many cases, treats differences as issues to be addressed rather than seeing them as learning opportunities and assets. Also, research and experience reveal that policies and practices alone do not determine student educational outcomes."
Commissioner Betty A. Rosa says, "We must remove barriers and facilitate equitable access to education by addressing the individual needs of students, increasing opportunities for work-based learning or college readiness programs, and providing students with practical skills and experiences that enhance their employability and post-secondary education opportunities."
Some of the recommendations include doing away with three types of diplomas, including Regents. But the Regents exam would continue, and including civic responsibility (ethics); cultural competence; financial literacy education; fine and performing arts; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) credit(s); and writing, including writing skills for real-world scenarios in diploma credit requirements.
Sam Radford of 'We The Parents' in Buffalo fears this is just a lowering of standards. "Not only are we lowering standards, we also are putting our children in a position where, because we're focusing on graduation measures, we're not focusing on the fact that we know that this year, 70% of the children in eighth grade, don't read, write or do math on grade level," says Radford. He says a majority of high school students are going to be going to high school unprepared. "We have to deal with this problem at the pre-K through three level. We have to make sure every third grader can read, write and do math on grade level, because between pre-K and third grade, you learn how to read, from third grade on you really need to learn," explains Radford. He says it becomes a disservice because the value of the diploma diminishes to the point "it's not worth the ink used to write on it."
But Hamburg Schools Superintendent Michael Cornell says the recommendations keep up with changing times. "The economy is just exploding in terms of the variety of opportunities that are out there for young people to make a living for themselves and their family after high school," says Cornell. He says the standardization of curriculum and assessment just doesn't make a lot of sense anymore in the economy that we have in 2023.
Cornell says there are opportunities to incorporate real world authentic assessment for audiences outside of the school, the opportunity to acknowledge that the real world doesn't operate based on the Carnegie credit system. "Maybe we start to think about different ways to award college credit, that are more consistent with the way the modern world works, the opportunity to revise and review learning standards is always something that promotes conversation among stakeholders," notes Cornell. He thinks it's something those who work in the field every day are looking for, which is a continued opportunity to speak into all these things as they unfold.
Cornell says this won't happen overnight. "They'll take some time and a lot of conversation so that we can understand exactly how this will play out," adds Cornell.
