Board of Regents Approves New Graduation Requirements

Board of Regents Approves New Graduation Requirements

In a week filled with surveys, Senate committee hearings and nominee confirmations, the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education also managed to approve new high school graduation requirements set to begin in 2014.

The Regents voted 5-1 Thursday to toughen the requirements for students currently in the ninth grade, giving schools more time to prepare for changes that emphasize the need to score at least partially proficient on the NECAP exam.

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The original plan, which would have changed the standards starting with next year’s graduating class, was met with opposition in January after parents, teachers and education groups expressed concern regarding Education Commissioner Deborah Gist’s proposal to create a three-tiered diploma system that rewarded students who performed well on standardized tests.

A Huge Improvement

After receiving feedback from the public and the Board of Regents, Gist went back to the drawing board and revised the plan. The revisions still require students to score at least partially proficient on the NECAP during their junior year or retake the test, but the three-tiered system has been scrapped in favor of adding a commendation to the diplomas of those who scored high on the NECAP.

“The revised regulations that the Board of Regents approved last night (March 3, 2011) clarify and strengthen what it takes for a student in Rhode Island to graduate from high school,” Commissioner Gist wrote in a statement to GoLocalProv. “Under the revised regulations, we maintain a high standard for graduation, we maintain a diploma system based on multiple measures of achievement, and we will provide students with adequate support and with multiple opportunities to meet the graduation requirements.”

The new requirements are considered more sensitive to those who score poorly due to issues happening outside of school and more flexible for students with special needs. One source close to the Board of Regents said the new requirements are a lot more thoughtful than the first plan, but still make it more difficult to earn a diploma.

“These requirements are a huge improvement over January,” the source said. “The changes proved Commissioner Gist and the Regents can work together to really raise the bar when it comes to public education in this state.”

More Public Input

Not everyone is thrilled with the new graduation requirements, however. GoLocalProv reported earlier this week that 14 groups from around the state released a letter calling on the Regents to hold off on Thursday’s vote.

The group stressed that the public needs more time to understand the new standards.

The letter called on the Regents to “provide an opportunity for public comment on any revised regulations before their final adoption, as they include serious and material changes, some of which run directly contrary to previous public comment, and many of which remain confusing and require further elaboration.”

Focus On Implementation

But Gist said the community played a major role in the revisions to the much-scrutinized original plan.

“During the process of drafting and completing these regulations, the community came together to talk about what’s important in public education,” she wrote. “We heard this feedback, and the final version of the regulations is much stronger because of this process.”

According to Gist, the key now is to make sure students, teachers and parents are prepared for the new standards.

“Now, we have to make sure that implementation is successful – that this work comes alive in our schools and classrooms every day, that students and teachers have the support they need, and that parents have good information about the academic progress of their children,” Gist said.