This one almost got by me… but a NY State Regent is now advocating for an appeals process to the Regents, so that if a student shows strong progress in their classes but fails the Regents, they can appeal for graduation.

He also argues for portfolio-based evaluation of student work as an alternative, stating:

"I’m a big outcomes guy, and their outcomes are so good," he said.

Richard Mills, of course, countered, arguing that Regents work. More disappointing is that Joel Klein agreed with Mills. (Hey Joel… how about listening to your own people for a change?)

But it’s clear that with the debacles over the Math and Physics Regents the last few years… and the roll-back of Regent scores so that 55 is now passing… that these tests aren’t working. The fact that a Regent would come out publicly in favor of alternatives shows that the wall is crumbling.

For Beacon, this means we just have to stay committed to our portfolio based assessment, because the testing "standards" based movement is going to fail, and we have to be ready to step in with an alternative when that day comes.