New York Ends Regents Exam Requirement and Lets Districts Define Diplomas

September 14, 2026 to stop requiring students to pass Regents exams to earn a high school diploma. The decision makes the current cohort of seniors the last group held to the 25-year-old five-exam standard. Students graduating in the 2027–28 school year and after will receive a single New York State diploma without a separate assessment requirement attached.

• The three existing credentials — local diploma, Regents diploma, and Regents with Advanced Designation — collapse into one state diploma. Advanced work will be recognized through seals or endorsements rather than separate diploma types.
• Regents exams will remain in place as a measure of state standards. The Education Department will develop new accountability tests to meet federal ESSA requirements.
• Districts will design local assessment strategies that combine classroom evidence, performance tasks, educator observation, and expanded credit options such as dual enrollment that can count toward both a diploma and a degree.
• Regulatory amendments are scheduled for discussion in February 2027 and expected for adoption in June 2027.

State leaders argued Regents exams were being asked to serve three competing functions: measure standards, drive accountability, and certify college readiness. Officials said a single timed test in June is a weaker signal of preparedness than four years of evidence. Assistant Commissioner Zachary Warner said the change is "nothing to do with lowering standards," and pointed to elite private schools that do not use Regents exams yet still prepare students successfully.

Equity was also cited. Under the old system, students who completed required coursework but failed one exam could leave without a credential, limiting postsecondary and workforce options. District-designed assessments aim to offer multiple ways for students to demonstrate learning.

Board members raised several concerns that have not yet been fully answered:

• No common yardstick. With districts creating their own assessment systems, the state loses a single point of comparison for proficiency and performance across districts.
• Grade inflation. Without an external check, transcripts and local grades could drift higher, reducing the signal value of course grades.
• Worsening readiness. National data already show troubling trends: roughly 45% of seniors are below NAEP Basic in math and 32% below in reading. The number of seniors accepted to four-year colleges rose while fewer were ready for entry-level college coursework.

Regents exams for standards measurement while building new accountability tests. Districts must design local assessment strategies and the Board will consider regulatory amendments in early and mid-2027. The replacement framework for defining the diploma and its assessment processes is not yet complete.

• How districts define proficiency and how consistent those definitions are across the state.
• The form and rigor of seals or endorsements that replace credential tiers.
• The design and timeline of the state's new accountability tests under ESSA.
• Impacts on college remediation rates and on federal aid usage for students who graduate under the new diploma rules.