NYS Moving Toward One H.S. Diploma

By Holly Crocco

New York State is moving toward one standard diploma for all students. While this new vision does not eliminate the Regents diploma, it does eliminate the requirement.

Changes coming to school districts across the state were outlined by Mahopac School Board member Lisa Caraway during the board’s Sept. 3 meeting, when she updated colleagues on information learned during a recent conference hosted by the NYS Education Department.

“It’s really all part of this evolution of the high school diploma that’s coming to New York State,” she said.

NYSED already adopted its “Portrait of a Graduate” vision, which includes six different attributes a student should demonstrate upon graduation from a public high school.

“Every student should be academically prepared, a creative innovator, critical thinker, effective communicator, global citizen, and reflective and future-focused,” explained Caraway. “A student who is mathematically inclined may have a lot of different skills than a student who is more inclined in the trades, but we want them to have all of these characteristics no matter what their path is.”

Essentially, the state is moving toward one New York State diploma.

“So class will still be rigorous, but we’re just trying to make things really move toward having a holistic learning approach and make sure students are really prepared to enter the workforce when they leave here – or the military or college, whatever they choose to do,” said Caraway.

With the “Portrait of a Graduate” approved, NYSED is now redefining credits and learning, moving beyond a system primarily based upon instructional or seat time and toward greater emphasis on demonstrated proficiency. As such, the state will be sunsetting diploma assessment requirements so students are no longer required to pass Regents exams to graduate

Caraway said a high school education will no longer be just about tests, although there will still be traditional assessments and performance-based assessments. However, there will also be projects and portfolios, presentations, career-connected experiences, and authentic application of academic skills

“As a school, we do a lot of this already,” she said. “We offer our students a lot of hands-on learning opportunities… So it’s just taking the good work we’re doing, and doing more.”

Moving forward, the district will be taking a look at its courses and curriculum to make sure it aligns with NYSED requirements.

“What are we doing to give students the interest and pull them in to have them want to really find something that’s speaking to them, instead of saying, ‘OK, you learned enough math to graduate’?” asked Caraway. “What are you going to do with it? What’s the point of it?”