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Graduation Measures

Graduation Measures

Frequently Asked Questions Related to the 91ƽ Graduation Measures Initiative

The Graduation Measures Initiative demonstrates the 91ƽ’s commitment to transforming education in 91ƽ to meet the expectations voiced by stakeholders and the challenges of the 21stcentury. While this is a monumental task that will take years to implement, it is essential to ensure 91ƽ P-12 education meets the needs of all students, is culturally and linguistically responsive, and prepares our students for success in 21stcentury life, college, careers, service, and citizenry.

  1. What information was shared at the November 4 Board of Regents Meeting?

On November 4, the 91ƽ (“Department”) presented . This plan includes a timeline for implementing the four key transformations that established the proposed vision for implementing the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures.

  1. Was this timeline adopted by the Board of Regents on November 4?

While the Board of Regents voiced support for the plan presented, a formal vote was not required. However, many of the actions included in the implementation plan will be presented to the Board of Regents for their approval or adoption at future meetings.

  1. I was not able to view the November Board of Regents Meeting. Is there a way for me to view the presentation?

Yes. A recording of the November Board of Regents Meeting will be posted on the. Additionally, all relevant presentations can be referenced on the Graduation Measures: Presentations and News Releases webpage.

  1. Under the proposed timeline, how will diploma requirements change for high school students?

The chart below details how diploma requirements would change for cohorts of students if the applicable changes are approved by the Board of Regents. A cohort consists of all students who first entered grade 9 in a particular school year. For example, the 2023 Cohort includes all of the students who started grade 9 in the 2023-2024 school year. If these students were to follow a traditional trajectory, they would graduate in June 2027.

Cohort

Proposed Diploma Requirements

Cohort 2023 and prior

Current diploma requirements. Students will graduate with one of three diplomas (local, Regents, or Regents with advanced designation).

Cohort 2024, Cohort 2025, and Cohort 2026

Current credit requirements. Diploma assessment requirements proposed to sunset within four years (fall 2027). Students will continue to take Regents Exams but will not be required to pass the Regents Exams to earn a diploma. Students will graduate with the NYS high school diploma. Students may take Regents Exams to earn endorsements, including advanced designation.

Cohort 2027 and Cohort 2028

New credit requirement. No separate diploma assessment requirements. Students will graduate with the NYS high school diploma. In addition to their diploma, students may earn additional redefined seals and endorsements, including advanced designation.

Cohort 2029

New system. Students must demonstrate proficiency in both the high school learning standards and the Portrait of a Graduate. Students will graduate with the NYS high school diploma with optional seals and endorsements. The statewide transcript will be required for all students.

Again, it is important to note that none of the proposed changes are final until they are approved by the Board of Regents.

Four Transformations
  1. What are the four transformations?

The four proposed transformations include:

  • Adopting the 91ƽ Portrait of a Graduate,
  • Redefining credits,
  • Sunsetting diploma assessment requirements, and
  • Moving to one diploma.
  1. Will the Portrait of a Graduate be adopted as recommended by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures?

Based on stakeholder feedback, the Department will refine the components prior to presenting the final NYS Portrait of a Graduate to the Board of Regents for adoption. The Department intends to finalize the NYS Portrait of a Graduate during the planning year (by Summer 2025).

  1. When will students be expected to demonstrate proficiency in the components of the 91ƽ Portrait of a Graduate?

According to the proposed timeline, all students entering grade 9 in the 2029 school year (and beyond) will be expected to demonstrate proficiency in both the high school learning standards and the components of the 91ƽ Portrait of a Graduate.

  1. What does the Department mean by “redefining credits”?

Currently, most students earn credit through the successful completion of a unit of study. A unit of study is based on a requirement for schools to provide a minimum of 180 minutes of instruction per week, or the equivalent (i.e., 108 hours of instruction for one diploma credit). This time-based system stems from the Carnegie Unit. The Carnegie unit was developed in 1906 by the Carnegie Foundation to measure the amount of time a student studied a subject. Now, even the Carnegie Foundation supports a move away from time-based systems.

The Department proposes a redefining of credits to focus on student proficiency and to expand the ways students demonstrate their proficiency in the learning standards and the components of the Portrait of a Graduate. While specific details are forthcoming, the goal is to maintain all of the current options, many of which are not currently used by most schools and districts, while also adding new options to provide multiple means for students to demonstrate their proficiency in the desired learning outcomes prior to graduation.

  1. When will credits be redefined?

The Department plans to provide additional guidance on redefining credits and learning experiences following the release of prioritized, reformatted learning standards and guidance. According to the proposed timeline, this work would be completed by summer 2027.

Additionally, the proposed timeline includes a new credit requirement for students entering grade 9 in the 2027-2028 school year and beyond. If approved by the Board of Regents, all students entering high school during the 2027-2028 school year, and beyond, would be required to earn a minimum of one credit in career and technical education. While this may include credit in financial literacy, this requirement could be fulfilled through earning credit in any of the CTE disciplines which include agricultural education, business and marketing education, computer science education, family and consumer sciences education, health sciences education, technology education, and trade and technical education. Students may also earn credit in career and technical education through work-based learning experiences.

  1. What does “sunsetting diploma assessment requirements” mean?

Under the proposed vision, students would not be required to pass specific diploma assessments, including Regents Exams, to earn a high school diploma.

  1. According to the proposed timeline, diploma assessment requirements will be sunset in the 2027-2028 school year, does this mean high school students will not need to take any exams during the 2027-2028 school year and beyond?

No. High school students will continue to be assessed locally, as well as through certain State assessments that are required by federal law. Assessments provide educators, students, parents, districts, and the Department with essential information to understand where students are in terms of their learning by showing how students are achieving in terms of the State learning standards.

  1. Will the sunsetting of diploma assessment requirements decrease the rigor of high school instruction?

No. 91ƽ educators are required to provide instruction aligned to the91ƽ learning standards. Learning standards articulate what all students should know and be able to do as a result of skilled instruction in subject areas and at grade levels. The Department will continue to support districts and schools as they continue to implement high-quality, culturally and linguistically responsive, student-centered, standards-based instruction.

Currently, high school learning standards exist in the following areas:

  1. Is the Department sunsetting +1 Assessments (also known as +1 Pathways), such as the Seal of Civic Readiness, CTE Pathway, World Languages Pathway, and Individualized Arts Assessment Pathway?

The sunsetting of specific diploma assessment requirements would mean that students would no longer be required to successfully complete a +1 Assessment (+1 Pathway) to fulfill the diploma requirements. While the +1 Pathways would no longer be used to fulfill diploma assessment requirements, the Department strongly supports the continuation of these experiences for students. Such experiences provide evidence of students’ proficiency in the learning standards and the components of the Portrait of a Graduate.

Until regulatory amendments are approved by the Board of Regents, students must continue to satisfy the +1 Assessment (+1 Pathway) requirement to earn a high school diploma.

  1. When does the Department plan to move to one diploma?

According to the proposed timeline, the Department plans to move to one diploma in Fall 2027. If approved by the Board of Regents, students graduating in January 2028 and beyond will graduate with a 91ƽ High School Diploma. Pending approval, this would mean that students entering grade 9 in the 2024-2025 school year, and beyond, would graduate with one diploma.

Supporting All Students
  1. How does the Department’s vision support the needs of special populations including students with disabilities and English language learners?

The vision supports the needs of all students, including students with disabilities and English language learners because it allows students the flexibility to demonstrate their understanding and skills in the manner most aligned with their personal strengths and abilities. The vision does not create specific pathways for specific subgroups of students but instead creates options for students to provide the necessary evidence of their proficiency in the high school learning standards and the components of the portrait of a graduate.

The vision allows for student-centered pathways that are meaningfully and appropriately differentiated, while mitigating against perceptions that some means of demonstrating proficiency are easier than others or that some means are easier for one group compared to another. Such an approach is consistent with conversations of the Board of Regents focused on creating a more equitable system that allows for multiple measures to be used to assess what students know and can do while maintaining rigor.

  1. If the Department moves to one diploma and the local diploma is no longer an option, does that mean that students with disabilities will have more difficulty gaining a high school diploma?

Stakeholders identified the diploma assessment requirements as the primary barrier to earning a diploma for students with disabilities. The proposed vision removes this barrier. Referencequestion 15for additional information about how the proposed vision supports students with disabilities.

  1. If the Department is eliminating the Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation, will high-achieving students still be able to demonstrate their achievements?

Yes. While the Department intends to move to one 91ƽ High School Diploma, districts will still be able to officially recognize students’ achievements through additional seals or endorsements on a student’s diploma.

Regents Exams
  1. Is the Department eliminating the Regents Examinations?

No. The Regents Examinations are used not only to satisfy the state’s current diploma requirements, but specific Regents Exams are also used to satisfy federal assessment requirements mandated by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Regents Exams also provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate mastery of the learning standards in a specific course.

  1. To clarify, in the future the Regents Exams will still be administered, but students won’t have to take them?

State assessments will continue to be administered per federal ESSA requirements. ESSA states that all students must be assessed in mathematics and reading or language arts in each grade 3 through 8; and at least once in grades 9 through 12. In science, assessments must be administered once in grades 3 through 5; once in grades 6 through 9; and once in grades 10 through 12.

Under the proposed vision, students would not berequired to passRegents Exams to earn a high school diploma. Under the proposed vision, the State high school exams will be one of the many options students could use as evidence of their proficiency in the high school learning standards and the components of the Portrait of a Graduate.

  1. Does the Department still intend to release the new Regents Exams aligned to the new math, science, and ELA learning standards in the coming years?

Yes. Both the timeline to implement the new ELA, math, and science standards and thetimeline for new Regents Exams aligned to the new standardsremain unchanged. Districts are required to implement the new standards per the timeline approved by the Board of Regents.

  1. If a student is scheduled to take one of more Regents Exams this year, must they take the exam(s)?

Yes. The current credit and assessment requirements remain in effect for all high school students. Guidance related to the current diploma requirements can be found on the Department’sGraduation Requirements webpage.

  1. If a student is scheduled to take one or more Regents Exams this year, but will not be graduating high school soon (such as 8thand 9thgraders), must they still take the exam(s)?

Yes. The current credit and assessment requirements remain in effect for all high school students, and until regulatory amendments are approved by the Board of Regents, schools and students must continue to follow the requirements of the current system. Guidance related to the current diploma requirements can be found on the Department’sGraduation Requirements webpage.

Communication
  1. Is the Department accepting feedback on this timeline for implementation of the four transformations and the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures?

When the Department proposes regulatory changes based on the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission, there will be a 60-day public comment period during which members of the public will be able to offer feedback.

If the Department seeks additional feedback, notice will be posted on theGraduation Measures webpage. Pleaseto receive updates about graduation measures in 91ƽ.

  1. Where can additional information related to the Graduation Measures initiative be found?

Information about the Graduation Measures initiative is located on the Department’sGraduation Measures webpage.to receive updates about graduation measures in 91ƽ.

Additional questions related to the Graduation Measures initiative may be referred to the Department atGradMeasures@nysed.gov.