> I'm not entirely certain if anyone in RinkWorks goes to, or attented school in New York state. There has been arquements partaining to the effects of Regents examinations, and the requirements behind them.

Well, first off, I would want to know *why* they felt an upgrade was neccessary. I'm sure it wasn't just an arbitrary decision. I'd want to look at the reasoning behind it and then see if it was justified. Assuming they did have good reason, then I'd want to see how they planned on implementing it. I'd think the new requirements would have to be gradually implemented.

>Is it fair to the students in lower grades to need to take harder, more difficult courses that they won't even use in their lifetime?


If the students (and parents) are aware of the new requirements, and have adequate time to study and prepare for them, then yes, it's fair. Whether students in higher grades or recent graduates have had to study the exact same material isn't relevant.

As far as "they won't even use [it] in their lifetime", well, students have used this lament with educators since before my grandma was born
--and the traditional answer is, "How do you know they won't?" :-) Part of the point of primary & secondary education is to open new worlds and ideas up to you; not just to prepare you for a specific career. Besides, sometimes the product isn't as important as the process. Whether you actually use that bit of information you learned or not, you *will* use the study skills/self-discipline/organizational techniques etc. that you had to develop in the process of learning it.
There's nothing wrong with learning simply for love of learning...and at least you can't complain you never had the opportunity to learn something, even if you choose not to use it later.


>I'm not certain if this is true for other states, but the way the regents exams have been changed, requiring now that you have to write full length essays and descriptions, requiring that students take 3 years of math, isn't right. People got along just fine with the old regents, and now it's guarenteed that a lot of people might fail due to the overwelming difficulties involved with it.


Again, I somehow doubt that the Regents just suddenly dropped the new requirements on a totally unsuspecting mass of students and teachers. As long as they've had adequate time to prepare and an idea of what to expect, then it is their responsibility to do what it takes to pass.


> I'm doing a speech based on these changes to stress the unimportance of these changes, and luckily, I just made it passed some of the more difficult requirements for graduation. Is it different for other states?

It's my understanding that the trend nationwide has been to upgrade graduation requirements; that has been the case here in California. Legislators here did not feel that people were
"getting along just fine" with the old standards.


Also, I came across an article that mentioned that public schools are trying to get out if it. I put a link below if anyone wants to read this article.

Read the article. Wasn't sure which perspective you personally are looking this from, private or public school?

> If anyone wishes to send me feedback, I would much appreciate it.
> -Mau(Anti-change in the regents because she doesn't want more work for herself and her younger friends or is perhaps just too talkative)Evig

koala"the path of least resistance usually leads downhill"mom