New York’s plan to stop requiring students to pass Regents exams does not mean the tests are disappearing. Students will continue taking statewide assessments in four subjects while the state prepares a new testing system now targeted for spring 2030.
A State Education Department memo dated Nov. 9 clarifies how testing will continue during the transition: Students must participate in one Regents examination or approved alternative in English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies within their first four years after entering ninth grade.
The distinction for families is between taking an assessment and earning a passing score to graduate.
Under New York’s implementation plan, students graduating in January 2028 or later would no longer have to satisfy separate diploma assessment requirements. Statewide testing would continue to measure achievement and help identify schools and student groups needing additional support.
Why testing will continue
Federal law requires statewide high school assessments in English language arts, mathematics and science. Social studies is included in New York’s federal accountability plan.
Washington does not specifically require New York to use Regents exams. The state is continuing to use them while it develops a replacement assessment system.
The November Board of Regents presentation describes the existing exams as the transition plan for maintaining comparable statewide measures of student achievement.
Schools and districts will retain flexibility over when students take assessments and which applicable exams they use. Approved alternatives remain an option.
The Education Department says statewide results should complement classroom assessments, student work and other evidence that educators use to understand learning needs and evaluate programs.
The continuation of testing is consistent with the graduation changes FingerLakes1 reported in September. Those changes separate diploma eligibility from passing a prescribed set of exams while retaining statewide assessments.
Graduation changes and new tests have different timelines
The latest update extends the anticipated rollout of a new high school assessment system to spring 2030.
State officials said feedback emphasized the need to give schools and educators sufficient preparation time and align the tests with broader instructional changes.
That testing timetable is separate from the planned removal of diploma assessment requirements in the 2027–28 school year.
In September guidance to school leaders, Education Commissioner Betty Rosa identified students graduating in January 2028 or later as the group covered by the planned change. It is not limited to students who enter high school that fall.
Students graduating earlier must continue meeting current requirements. The state also says existing course-credit requirements remain unchanged for students who entered ninth grade in 2026–27 or earlier.
The department plans to bring proposed graduation regulations to the Board of Regents by February 2027. Its implementation timeline cautions that existing requirements remain in effect until changes receive the necessary approval.
A fuller competency-based graduation system is planned for students entering high school in fall 2029. That later phase would emphasize demonstrating proficiency in academic standards and the state’s Portrait of a Graduate.
Scores will still matter for evaluating schools
Removing passing-score requirements for diplomas would not eliminate the use of test results in school accountability.
The November memo says New York intends to preserve its multiple-measures approach, including academic achievement, attendance, English language proficiency and graduation rates.
Assessment participation will remain part of that system. One academic indicator incorporates the federally required 95% participation rate, while another uses valid Regents results and students’ highest valid scores in the four subject areas.
The department is separately proposing changes to how schools receive recognition for college, career and civic readiness as New York moves toward one diploma.
Instead of relying partly on distinctions among local, Regents and advanced-designation diplomas, the revised measure would recognize accomplishments through seals, endorsements and other qualifying outcomes. Proposed opportunities include biliteracy, civic readiness, advanced designation and technical achievement.
Those accountability changes still require applicable approvals, including federal approval of amendments to New York’s Every Student Succeeds Act plan.
For Finger Lakes families, the immediate guidance is to continue following current course and examination requirements. The planned graduation overhaul changes the role of Regents scores, while statewide testing remains part of the system.
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