NYS Board Of Regents, State Education Department, Announce Plan To Move Toward First-In-The-Nation Competency-Based Diploma

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The New York State Board of Regents and the New York State Education Department today announced the next phase of the NY Inspires initiative, outlining a historic transformation of P-12 public education to a competency-based system. Under the new framework, graduation requirements will move away from time-based measures toward demonstrated readiness in the knowledge, skills, and competencies students need to succeed in college, career, civic life, and the world beyond high school.

Board of Regents Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr. said, “This work represents a bold reimagining of what education can and should be. It challenges long-held assumptions about how learning is measured and what a diploma signifies. Instead of asking students to fit into a single pathway, we are creating multiple rigorous avenues for them to demonstrate their readiness, while upholding high expectations statewide. Just as importantly, it advances educational equity by recognizing that students learn, show their strengths, and prepare for the future in different ways. By expanding high-quality pathways and maintaining strong standards for all, we are opening doors to opportunity and ensuring every student has a meaningful chance to succeed.”

Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said, “New York is leading the nation by ensuring that a diploma represents something meaningful, a demonstrated readiness for the opportunities and challenges that await our graduates. This is not about lowering standards, it is about redefining how students demonstrate that they have met them. By focusing on demonstrated readiness rather than accumulated seat time, New York is creating a system that is more rigorous, more relevant, and more responsive to the strengths and aspirations of every learner. What we’re doing is not an incremental change to our current model; it is a nation-leading transformation that redefines what a diploma represents and how students demonstrate readiness for the future.”

A Diploma That Represents Readiness

The new diploma framework will be grounded in New York State competencies aligned to the Portrait of a Graduate and prioritized learning standards. Rather than relying on seat time or traditional credit accumulation as the primary measure of progress, students will demonstrate readiness through evidence of learning developed over time.

Students will demonstrate readiness in statewide competencies that are clearly defined, measurable, transferable, and connected to real-world applications. These competencies will reflect the essential knowledge, skills, and attributes students need for 21st-century success, including critical thinking, communication, academic preparation, global citizenship, creativity, innovation, reflection, and future planning.

Maintaining Rigor While Expanding Opportunity

The competency-based diploma maintains high expectations for all students while recognizing that learning can be demonstrated in multiple ways.

The Department will establish statewide performance standards, common rubrics, quality assurance processes, and accountability measures to ensure consistency and rigor across New York State.

The new framework recognizes that students develop and demonstrate learning in different ways. Through high-quality learning experiences, including career-connected learning, interdisciplinary project-based learning, and capstone projects, students will have multiple opportunities to show what they know and can do while meeting high statewide expectations.

Preparing Students for the Future

The competency-based diploma reflects the changing demands of higher education, the workforce, and civic participation. Colleges, employers, and communities increasingly seek graduates who can think critically, communicate effectively, solve complex problems, collaborate with others, and adapt to a rapidly changing world.

Through a phased implementation process, NYSED will work closely with educators, students, families, higher education institutions, business leaders, and community partners to ensure a successful statewide transition.

Building the Next Generation of Educational Excellence

The competency-based diploma marks the most significant transformation of New York’s graduation system in generations and will establish a new national model for educational excellence.

By redefining graduation around demonstrated readiness, authentic learning experiences, and student readiness, New York is ensuring that every diploma reflects not only what students can do, but what they are prepared to achieve.

Professor Edmund W. Gordon: “The NY Inspires initiative represents a bold and meaningful step toward transforming public education in New York. By moving to a competency-based diploma, the New York State Education Department is aligning assessment more closely with the fundamental purpose of teaching and learning: helping students develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and capacities they need to thrive. By allowing students to show readiness through a comprehensive body of evidence, New York is embracing a more complete and authentic understanding of achievement. This vision demonstrates that educational excellence and educational equity can be advanced together, without relying solely on narrow measures of student success.”

Professor Howard T. Everson: “The New York State Education Department’s commitment to a competency-based educational system is a significant and forward-looking initiative to ensure that a New York State diploma more accurately and equitably assesses student achievement. By moving beyond a system focused primarily on standardized test compliance, educators will be better positioned to capture what students know and are able to do, creating a stronger framework for defining and cultivating the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind students need to flourish in an increasingly complex world. This approach reflects an important evolution in educational assessment toward one that recognizes multiple dimensions of student readiness while preserving rigor and promoting opportunity.”

For additional information, please visit the NY Inspires website.