On Tuesday, the New York State Board of Regents announced it was canceling January’s Regents Exams due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The New York State Department of Education will ask the Board of Regents to approve modifications to the assessment requirements that students must meet to earn high school diplomas, credentials and endorsements.
Dia Bryant, executive director at The Education Trust–New York, told Capital Tonight that she appreciates that the Education Department is taking the safety of students seriously.
“However, I think it’s important that we know there are effects of this,” Bryant said. “We haven’t really prepared [students] for their post-secondary opportunities.”
Bryant pointed to the funding that the federal government has provided to prevent learning loss.
“I think, in this moment, it’s an opportunity for NYSED to speed up grad measures conversations that are not supposed to happen until the end of 2022,” Bryant said. “It’s time to plan the pivot. We can’t keep resting on these aged ideologies.”
