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Goodbye, Regents exams. NYC educators: Tell us how Portrait of a Graduate will change your classroom.
Amy Zimmer, Chalkbeat
Mar 23, 2026, at 10:21am EDT
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Next school year will be the last requiring students to pass their Regents exams to earn a high school diploma under the state’s current timeline.
Starting in the 2027-28 school year, students will be evaluated based on a new framework from the state called the Portrait of a Graduate, which includes six key qualities high schoolers should master to earn a diploma. They should be able to demonstrate they are academically prepared, creative innovators, critical thinkers, effective communicators, global citizens, and “reflective and future-focused”.
State officials have offered few specifics about how students will be expected to meet those criteria, though they have sketched some broad possibilities such as research projects and internships.
Chalkbeat wants to hear from school leaders and teachers: How will these changes affect what’s happening in your classrooms? What will moving away from the Regents exams mean for you and your students? What questions do you have?
New York City schools chancellor Kamar Samuels has signalled the education department plans to “ramp up” its work filling in the lines for the Portrait of a Graduate. He recently revamped his cabinet to include a new position for a high-level official supervising high school leadership. It’s headed by Alan Cheng, who most recently oversaw Outward Bound schools, the Internationals Network serving newcomer immigrants, and New York Performance Standards Consortium schools, which require students to do performance-based assessments such as capstone projects or other presentations rather than Regents exit exams. Consortium schools could potentially serve as a model as the state overhauls graduation requirements.
“As Portrait of a Graduate starts to take shape, a New York City diploma needs to mean rigorous learning and genuine preparation for what is to come next,” Cheng said when his new role was announced.
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Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/03/20/nyc-educators-portrait-of-a-graduate-regents-changes-survey/