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Starting in September 2027, New York state public school students will no longer be required to pass five Regents exams in order to graduate. This move will put New York in line with the rest of the country, as only six states remain that require exit exams.

Instead of being asked to score at least a on tests of English Language Arts, mathematics, social studies, science and one optional exam, New York students will be assessed using standards. 

It is yet unclear as to who will be evaluating whether they can be considered:

• academically prepared
• creative innovators
• critical thinkers
• effective communicators
• global citizens
• reflective and future-focused

It is also unclear what the criteria for succeeding in each category will be.

When I asked parent subscribers to my mailing list how they felt about the shift, the answers split starkly into two camps.

There were those who cheered. Josh Kross, father of two high schoolers and one graduate, wrote, 鈥淩egents are outdated. Good riddance.鈥� Moria Herbst added, 鈥淥ther states don’t have them. Certainly not in Massachusetts, where I grew up. And Massachusetts does just fine!鈥�

鈥淚 am deeply in favor of moving away from a standardized testing model,鈥� said E.J., the Washington Heights parent of a first grader. 鈥淲hile Portrait of a Graduate is still being worked on as to how it will actually function, I’m encouraged by the idea and the possibility of it being a more complete picture of the human we’re sending out into the world.鈥�

Other parents, however, were less enthused.

鈥�Portrait of a Graduate is so fuzzy as to be meaningless,” wrote Rachel Fremmer, dismissively. “I didn鈥檛 think standards could be lowered any further, but they have been.鈥� 

鈥淚t seems like a process that will make things more subjective for teachers, and thus less fair for many students,鈥� opined Marina. 鈥淭his seems like a vague requirement that will allow parents with resources even more leverage.鈥�

Yiatin Chu, mom of a ninth grader, went even further, saying, 鈥淔or those who criticize the Regents as a low bar/waste of time, why aren’t we improving it and making it more rigorous instead? Portrait of a Graduate is aspirational 鈥� over 40% of eighth grade students are entering high school not reading at grade level. I see the change to these graduation metrics for HS graduation as a way for the system to push kids out the door.鈥�

New York City already faces the issues of straight A students being unable to perform equally well 鈥� or even pass 鈥� state elementary and middle school tests, not to mention high school Regents exams.

鈥淲ithout objective tests, there is no way to gauge what kids are actually learning,鈥� Diane Rubenstein predicted. 鈥淭his will allow the (Department of Education) to give kids nothing in the classroom. This will give (them) cover to not teach.鈥�

鈥淩emoving this requirement dilutes education standards even further,鈥� agreed AW. 鈥淚t plays very well into the current administration鈥檚 program of ‘equity,’ aka ‘mediocrity for all.’ It disincentivizes kids from learning and teaches them that if something is hard, just protest and it will be removed from your path, even to your detriment.鈥�

For many parents, the perceived lowering of standards will hurt city students when it comes to competing not just nationally, but internationally.

鈥淚f USA high schools become less competitive, that鈥檚 not good for the next generation,鈥� Jenny worried, while Ella added, 鈥淥ur kids will fall behind other countries. We are already falling behind in the world. My kids cannot compete with foreign students.鈥�

Of the that currently have high-school exit exams in place, New Jersey ranked No. 2 in the country for educational achievement for 2025, Virginia was No. 13, Ohio was No. 15, Florida was No. 19, Texas No. 31 and Louisiana No. 35. (Massachusetts, which got rid of its exit exams in 2025, is, as noted above, ranked No. 1. However, that ranking was achieved while the state still had its exit exam up through last year.)

In New York, while students will no longer be required to sit for Regents exams in order to graduate, they will still have the option of taking them in order to earn a .

This could have the effect of widening the gaps between students, rather than improving equity. Colleges and employers will be able to see who earned a Regents diploma and who opted to bypass established standards via a more subjective metric, which could imply less academic rigor.

Like those rejected from colleges that went SAT/ACT scores because they realized those were a reliable predictor of applicants鈥� capabilities, students who choose not to take the Regents exams could find themselves negatively perceived and penalized.

鈥淚 understand the growing pressure to move away from standardized testing, but we still need a meaningful way to measure student progress and evaluate our schools,鈥� ventured Stephanie Cuba, the mother of children in seventh and ninth grades. 鈥淓ducation policy should be deliberate and comprehensive, not a series of reactive decisions. If you鈥檙e going to dismantle the old system, you need a clear, credible plan to replace it. Without that, we鈥檙e operating without a compass.鈥�

Right now, with Profile of a Graduate details vague and , New York risks graduating multiple cohorts whose achievements will not be properly valued. The repercussions might follow them for years.

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