NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — Students across Western New York are sitting for Regents exams this week, even as the state prepares to eliminate the long-standing graduation requirement.
Starting in the 2027-28 school year, the New York State Education Department will begin phasing out Regents exams as a mandatory graduation requirement, moving instead to a competency-based diploma system. Under the new model, students will demonstrate their knowledge and skills through hands-on learning rather than standardized tests.
At Niagara Falls High School, students were taking 2 different Regents exams on Wednesday. To graduate, seniors must pass 5 Regents courses.
Principal Bryan Rotella said the shift is already on students' minds.
"It really starts to shape where the kids are going to go after high school," Rotella said.
Rotella described the pressure students feel around the current exams.
WATCH: 'I personally think it's the right way to go': New York moves to phase out Regents exam requirement
"They are not interested in taking these exams. They are incredibly nervous and scared. They are just ready to go," Rotella said.
Niagara Falls City Schools Superintendent Mark Laurrie said he supports the move away from Regents exams.
"I personally think it's the right way to go," Laurrie said.
Under the competency-based system, students would be required to show mastery of skills in a variety of ways.
"To demonstrate — to show that you have the skill to do a task, an assignment, an activity, a writing sample, a welding project, and to have a rubric or a set of standards that you must hit in order to demonstrate proficiency or mastery," Laurrie said
Laurrie noted that Regents exams are often scored on a curve, and pushed back on the idea that eliminating them would lower academic standards.
"When you curve a paper and pencil test, it's dumbing down, and that's what happens," Laurrie said.
Laurrie argued the new approach better prepares students for life after graduation.
"I think you can start to see why it's not dumbing down the curriculum. It's preparing kids for what the world, the community — Western New York needs is preparing them in a better way," Laurrie said.
Rotella agreed that the change represents a shift in how education is defined.
"You don't think it's a dumbing down?” Buckley asked. “Absolutely not. I think it's a re-imagining and kind of a reshaping of what the 21st century is and getting our kids ready for it," Rotella said.
Bhawna Chowdhary, P-TECH grant director at Niagara Falls High School, said the new model gives students more ways to prove what they know.
"So, they don't always have to adhere to just an exam to prove that they know something," Chowdhary said.
Niagara Falls High School is already offering multiple pathways for students, including college credits and internships. Chowdhary said the shift comes at a critical time for employers in the region.
"The thing that we hear from so many employers is that they have no one. They have no one to work. They are looking for employees," Chowdhary said.
Chowdhary said the broader movement signals a meaningful change for education.
"This movement at the high school really changes the dynamic of an education," Chowdhary said.
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