BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- School districts throughout New York State are still waiting on further guidance for graduation requirements for high school seniors, despite state officials signaling that Regents exams will likely be optional in the near future.

Superintendent Ron Burke recently told school board members that he and area superintendents are still waiting on the state to clarify just what the requirements would be.

Burke said districts were caught by surprise a few weeks ago when the news from Albany broke with a press release.

According to the release, a plan that was presented in June would keep Regents exams but they would be optional. Districts could still use them as a metric for graduation, however the new system would also weigh outside factors like extracurricular activities, internships and projects as a metric for graduation.

Criticism has been leveled against standardized testing in recent years, with many critics of the testing procedures saying that exams like Regents exams are not a true measure of accomplishment for many students.

Though regents exams could become optional, a series of required classes would replace them. Students would still be able to take a Regents exam to test their proficiency level in certain subjects as they prefer.

The new system would also allow students to work closely with faculty and administrators to find alternatives to such exams to demonstrate proficiency, hence the shift to required classes instead of testing procedures, state officials said.

“On face value, I think it’s a great idea. It’s long overdue that we start talking about graduation requirements. If this is the result of the Blue Ribbon Commission and really leads to meaningful change, I think it’s going to be great. But right now I think we’re really lacking a lot of the details,” Burke said.

Another change that would be a byproduct of the change in testing is the diploma system currently in place. If state officials opted to make Regents exams optional, Regents diplomas would be phased out and students who successfully complete the exams would receive a Regents endorsement. The same would happen with Advanced Regents diplomas, which would also change to an endorsement on the normal diploma all graduates would receive.

Burke said at this time there are many factors that are unknown.

"The devil will be in the details. I’m hopeful that this will be a meaningful change, and not just supplementary, that there really will be options. I think that’s what we hear most from schools around the state. We need options. We can do better," Burke said.

The Board of Regents is expected to vote on the measure by November.