Currently, New York state is one of the only states in the U.S. that requires Regents exams to be taken to graduate high school. Many high school students who live in New York find this frustrating and unfair.

Recently, plans have been discussed to lift this requirement, allowing students to graduate without having to take Regents exams. Plans state that starting in the 2028 school year, Regents exams will no longer be mandatory for graduation.

Educators have said that Regents exams do not correctly assess students’ understanding of a topic, so requiring them to take these tests is not a useful way to test their academic success or measure how ready they are to graduate. To graduate, students would instead have to show their academic success through other aspects such as critical thinking.

Some of the Regents exams, such as the math, English and science tests, will still be mandatory to take, but students will be able to graduate even if they don’t pass them, as per federal rules. This means that if students do pass the Regents exams, they could earn benefits such as endorsements for their diplomas.

New York will also be introducing the new “portrait of graduates,” in which students can show what they have learned through projects or internships.

Since New York is one of the only states that still requires these exams, the state will now be doing what all the other states are doing by looking for new ways to ensure that students fulfill high school requirements. The New York State Regents exams no longer being mandatory to graduate high school will hopefully benefit students.