As a student who spent most of her high school career avoiding history homework, I was shocked by my angry reaction to New York state’s elimination of the United States and global history Regents exams as graduation requirements. The decision is part of an effort to improve graduation rates, but eliminating the requirement to take these tests will do more harm than good for students.
On Oct. 20, a unanimous vote passed eliminating the history Regents as a requirement for high school graduation. Additionally, the global history Regents was modified to only include events after 1750. While history is not my forte, based on the minimal knowledge I retained from global, I’m certain many important events occurred before 1750.
The elimination of social studies curriculum from high school is not a new phenomenon. In 2010, the Regents phased out social studies exams for fifth and eighth graders. Elementary school teachers have been forced to remove social studies from daily curriculum and focus on the common core subjects of English and math instead.
In theory, the elimination of these Regents exams will help promote high school graduation rates. In my own high school, students faced the issue of a limited variety of classes. There used to be three levels of difficulty: Regents, honors and Advanced Placement (AP). In order to improve the school’s rankings, many of the honors courses were eliminated. Students were forced into the AP level even if they did not feel prepared for this level of rigor. The elimination of the Regents as a requirement will further limit options for students.
Although these tests remain a voluntary option, the loss of required status will cause fewer schools to offer these courses and fewer students to enroll. The change negatively affects students of all abilities and interests. Eager students who may not want to take the AP level are now discouraged from taking the Regents. This plan theoretically targets students at risk of not graduating, but I do not think the change benefits them either. Unless they’re required to take these tests and classes, they will not take them. These students will graduate from high school without a basic understanding of the past.
Perhaps more students will be eligible for graduation because they’re not required to pass these tests. This isn’t solving the larger problem. These students are more than just a number or statistic. They are children who deserve education. They deserve to be taught by teachers devoted to instilling a passion for learning.
A working knowledge of math and English may be necessary to navigate the world outside of high school, but reducing curriculum to the essentials isn’t helping anyone. Maybe a student who hates school may find his niche in American history. Such a student could excel and find interest in a certain aspect of that class. He could follow that interest beyond his high school years. Now, such a student will not be exposed to American history and will complete the bare minimum requirements to graduate.
Cutting classes and requirements isn’t the right way to increase graduation rates. Reducing options confuses education’s greater purpose: to give individual students the tools to excel, and not just to get by.