A Critical First Look at Graduation Recommendations

“The soft bigotry of low expectations”

In the fall of 2019 I participated in a regional meeting: Graduation Measures, a top to bottom review of everything high school. I sat at a table with a superintendent, a principal, a teacher and a few parents. The guiding question: what will students know upon high school graduation? We rapidly drifted into “… is this the beginning of a process to end Regents Exams?”

Almost five years later the answer is “yes,” Regents Exams are not ending, just made voluntary. Districts will replace Regents with state approved assessments. Maybe portfolios, or projects, term papers, or whatever the school districts choose with approval of State Ed, of course with 700 school districts how will the state assure “inter rater reliability?” A much debated topic over the years.

There are 38 Consortium Schools, (performanceassessment.org) mostly in NYC that have received waivers, in lieu of Regents, students produce a portfolio and are questioned at a roundtable, The schools are carefully selected, the structures are unique (block scheduling) and have been around for decades, The schools are "supported" by the Performance Based Assessment Consortium, a charter school-like cluster of schools, except they are public schools.  I have visited many times, served as a "critical friend" on the roundtable, and, Ann Cook, the leader of the Consortium has selected the schools with care and fidelity.

Interestingly with de facto elimination of Regents elite colleges (Harvard, Yale, MIT, et al) are restoring the SAT/ACT. Hummm

Check out the Graduation Measures site here: nysednews@nysed.gov.

The Regents Exam are commonly reviled as requiring wasted time on test prep. Musicians and Dancers and Athletes spend endless time practicing, guided practice, remember, how do you get to Carnegie Hall? “Practice, Practice, Practice.” 

 Over the years Regents Exams have changed, questions are not the regurgitation of facts, the short answer and the essay sections require analysis of information and the crafting of essays, important skills.

I fear the local assessment will be the “least common denominator,” the local assessment in Rochester may be far less rigorous than a school district in Westchester.
Are we returning to “the soft bigotry of low expectations?”

The presentation paints a “Portrait of a Graduate,” and ignores a “Portrait of a Dropout,” 20% of Black and Latino students fail to graduate, for decades the State ignored “credit recovery,” an unregulated system granting credits without any assessment. Will the state approved assessments, once again, devolve into a scheme to increase graduation numbers and graduate students unprepared for college or the world of work?

The 68 member Blue Ribbon Commission included a few classroom teachers, the end users, classroom teachers, and their union, should be playing a crucial role leading role.
High school teachers teach five classes a day, let's say 25 students per class - 125 students daily: 125 portfolios?   

Will the new state approved alternative assessments be so burdensome that teachers will revolt?

Why is the State ignoring a Portrait of a Dropout?

The 20% of students who fail to graduate are also chronically absent, frequently beginning in early grades. These kids fall further and further behind, remediation rarely improves student outcomes, eliminating Regents and  replacing with “soft” assessment tools may increase graduation; however, will these policies increase student skills?

There will be an extensive comment period: Gradmeasures@nysud.gov

In an ideal world allowing each student to show competence in a way that suits the unique skills of the student is wonderful, in a world of 4400 schools, over 700 school districts I fear the potholes are many and the roads are long.