By Denisse Merino

If you grew up in New York City, chances are you have heard of the Regents. The Regents are standardized exams that students across the State of New York have to pass in order to graduate and earn a diploma that’s recognized by the State Board of Regents.

Some words people I spoke to used to describe these exams: “A mess,” “stressful,” “Frankenstein” and “inequitable.” Today, there are Regents tests for ten core subjects, including U.S. History, English Language Arts and Chemistry. Most New York high school students must pass five of them in order to graduate.

New York is one of only eight states that mandate high school exit exams. As so many other states are turning to alternative forms of assessing academic proficiency, why does New York still use these standardized tests as a graduation requirement? How should graduation readiness be evaluated?

To all our New Yorkers, get ready for an educational flashback that you probably hoped would stay in the past.

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