Educational reform in New York is in an interesting state of flux. While schools of education and local districts continue on the merry ways of Goals 2000, Outcomes-Based Education, and School-to-Work, the Commissioner and the Regents are trying to introduce a bit of sanity into the process.

A year or so ago the Commissioner announced that the NY public school system would return to the time-honored Regents exams, but with the difference that all students must pass them in order to graduate from high school. The new requirement mandates that students must eventually pass five Regents exams to graduate. These are to be given in English, mathematics, social studies (2), and science. The requirement is to be phased-in over the next eight years. Most traditional local diplomas are to be terminated.

The phase-in begins with the class of 2000, which entered the tenth grade this September. They will be expected to pass the English Regents exam with a score of 55 or better. The class of 2001 must earn a 55 on English and Math Regents. The next class will have to pass English, mathematics, and social studies I and II exams with a score of 55. The class of 2003 must earn a 55 on all five exams.

Following the phase-in period, the scoring requirements change. The class of 2004 will have to earn at least 65 on the English and social studies I and II exams, and 55 on the math and science Regents in order to graduate. After that, all students must score 65 or better on all five tests to graduate. (It is to be hoped that eventually the passing grade will rise further) The new plan also requires high school students either to take and pass a foreign language course while in high school or pass a proficiency exam in a foreign language.

In all likelihood, there may be two diplomas available for students graduating after 2005. While all students will have to pass the five Regents exams to graduate, students who want to distinguish themselves may do so by academic, occupational or other special achievements that would qualify for a higher diploma. A special diploma may also be available for students with disabilities. Parts of the plan are still subject to approval by the Board of Regents at its November meeting.

Fears that the exams could or would be seriously "dumbed down" were somewhat allayed when nearly three quarters of the high school students who recently took the pilot form of the new Regents math exam failed to earn the required grade of 55. Most teachers also found the test difficult, and our own Charlie Richardson, who has been following the development of the test, found it more demanding than he expected.

Meanwhile, most districts are deeply concerned over how to cope with this radical change in direction. From OBE's call to do away with standardized testing, to a return to a time-honored form of such testing has proven devastating to districts that rushed to adopt the Washington-driven reforms. Teachers feel betrayed, parents are worried, and students are fearful. But recent SAT results for NY students justify the change. The average SAT verbal score for NY students has dropped 2 points to 495 while the math average jumped 3 points to 502. Both, however, still trail the national averages: 505 verbal, 511 math on the renormed scale.

If the Commissioner is serious about developing higher standards, chances are that the new Regent exams could help drive the curriculum back toward academic integrity in NY state. Between the Regents exams and the School Report Card system, initiated last year, which makes individual schools accountable for student performance on the exams, NY might be turning the corner. The one remaining culprit is the STW program which the Commissioner and the Regents favor. This could have a negative effect on the Regents exams by requiring an excessive amount of performancetesting at the expense of cognitive testing.

New York is still not out of the woods. In the attempt to qualify for federal funds, the State Education Department continues pushing for many of the "systemic reforms" found in Goals 2000 and OBE. While some of these may be peripheral to the need for returning to academic integrity, they still can seriously stall the project. Grass-roots groups such as ESTEEM, which I chair, must continue pressuring education leaders to pay greater attention to the public's increasing awareness that American education has been misled by a reform that has slowly eroded the academic base of what education really means.

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