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The School Executive's Bulletin is a publication of the New York State Education Department's Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education.
Comments and suggestions should be submitted to Patricia Wendelken, Editor, Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education, Room 875 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, or to pwendelk@mail.nysed.gov 

Approval of Graduation Standard Proposal

In June, the Board of Regents approved a four-year phase in of the 65 passing score on required Regents exams. The transition would be phased in as follows:

For students entering grade 9 in 2005: General education students must have at least two scores at 65 or above on the five required Regents exams and all scores at 55 or above.

For students entering grade 9 in 2006: General education students must have at least three scores at 65 or above on the five required Regents exams and all scores at 55 or above.

For students entering grade 9 in 2007: General education students must have at least four scores at 65 or above on the five required Regents exams and all scores at 55 or above.

For students entering grade 9 in 2008: General education students must pass all five required Regents exams at a score of 65 or above.

Students that score at 65 or above on required Regents exams will earn a Regents-endorsed diploma. Students that score between 55-64 on a required Regents exam during the phase in period may earn a local diploma, at the discretion of the local board of education. Students with disabilities will still have the safety net option of taking and passing the Regents Competency Test if they have not been successful on the corresponding Regents exam in order to earn a local diploma. This provision will continue for students with disabilities entering grade 8 prior to September 2010. The low-pass option of scoring between 55-64 on the required Regents exams to earn a local diploma will become a permanent safety net for students with disabilities, with no local option.

The Regents also approved an appeals process in which students who score within three points of 65 and have achieved the standards would be eligible to appeal if they met certain criteria.

A copy of the full proposal approved by the Regents is available at http://www.regents.nysed.gov under materials for the Full Board meeting in June 2005. The press release, powerpoint slide presentation, and a chart that presents the change in the diploma requirements are available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov .

Update on Mathematics Graduation Requirements

In January 2005, the Regents approved the revised mathematics learning standard and the performance indicators for pre-kindergarten through grade 8. The Regents also approved the continuance of the Committee's work on the high school level performance indicators. In March, the Regents adopted the high school performance indicators for Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry, along with the alignment modifications to pre-kindergarten through grade 8, as recommended by the Mathematics Standards Committee. At that meeting, the Regents also agreed to consider the Committee's remaining four high school recommendations at a later date. In June, the Regents discussed the following remaining recommendations, and Department staff provided comments as noted:

1. That a Regents examination be developed and administered for each of the three courses (Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry). Staff recommended approval, and the Regents reached consensus on a 2008-2009 implementation timeline.

2. That the mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma be the passing of one Regents examination in mathematics, and the passing of three units of credit of high school mathematics. The Committee also recommended that the credit granted for the Algebra course be limited to two units. Staff agreed with this recommendation.

3. That the mathematics graduation requirement for a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation be that students take and pass the three courses of high school mathematics, and that the first two cohorts pass two of the three Regents examinations in mathematics and that subsequent cohorts pass all three Regents examinations in mathematics. Staff recommended that the requirement for passing all three Regents examinations in mathematics be established on a date certain for all students.

4. That ways of rewarding students for taking and mastering more than the graduation requirements be explored and implemented. Staff recommended that students who complete all coursework and take and pass three Regents examinations in mathematics and/or science with a score of 85 or better, would earn a Regents diploma with advanced designation, with an annotation on the diploma that denotes mastery of mathematics and/or science. In addition, staff will continue to discuss ways in which advanced high school mathematics coursework might be recognized by higher education institutions.

In July, the Regents will take action on these recommendations. A copy of the June material is available at http://www.regents.nysed.gov under materials for the June Regents meeting.

Health Conditions That Impact Student Achievement

The health of students has an enormous impact on their academic achievement. It requires the education community to join with public and private sector mental health, health and social service providers to address the widespread conditions that interfere with student learning and the prospects for students to have a healthy adulthood. With the recent surge in national and State initiatives to improve student performance, more attention is being given to identifying all those factors that impact student academic achievement. With the increase in our knowledge base, we realize that many children come to school with physical and mental health challenges that impede their ability to learn and compromise their likelihood of becoming healthy, capable adults. Increased research into child physical health indicators yields evidence substantiating their impact on learning.

Key physical health indicators that are receiving the most publicity right now include the dramatic rise in obesity, diabetes, and asthma among children. These diseases, which constitute three of the seven major risk factors cited by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), are also continually referenced in discussions of the broader areas of poor nutrition, lack of adequate physical activity and environmental hazards. While the literature speculates on causality and cure, data generally supports the fact that student risk in these areas is increasing.

As with many other risk indicators, students that are poor, live in impoverished communities, come from families where English is a second language and attend schools in need of improvement, have additional unmet needs with regard to optimal health maintenance. These students are also more likely to experience higher rates of academic difficulties. In order to close the achievement gap, more attention is needed to directing preventive health resources to the neediest communities. Increasingly, the school community is identified, by federal and State systems, as part of the solution for improving student health.

In June, the Board of Regents began a series of discussions on selected health conditions that impact student achievement. The report is available at http://www.regents.nysed.gov under materials for the June Regents meeting. The Regents will schedule discussions on additional health conditions and develop a plan for addressing these issues.

Reporting of Violent Incidents and Identification of Persistently Dangerous Schools

The Department has continued to refine and improve its violent and disruptive incidents reporting and data collection system that is used by school buildings and districts. In an effort to ensure that students are provided an opportunity to learn in safe school environments, the Department will expand the criteria that are used in identifying potentially persistently dangerous school buildings through a School Violence Index and continue development of a Supportive Learning Environment Index that would provide information about the conditions of school buildings that impact the learning process. The Regents received a report in June on the Department's work in these areas. The report is available at http://www.regents.nysed.gov under materials for the June Regents meeting.

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