12.05.2022 | NY Daily News | “The evidence shows that these high-stakes exams are not correlated to success. They more so serve as a barrier,” said Juliet Eisenstein, a staff attorney at Advocates for Children, which spearheaded the petition. 

Eisenstein is on a 64-member state commission tasked in September with reviewing the state’s graduation measures that will meet again on Tuesday. The state, which had been considering updates to its graduation policy before the pandemic, held off making any permanent changes while the virus interrupted in-person meetings. 

One study of 11,000 school districts over a decade, cited by Advocates for Children, found that dropout rates for 12th graders increased by 23 percent in states that required students to pass exit exams, without offering other ways to get a diploma. 

“There might be a student with disabilities who’s in classes able to demonstrate their learning,” said Eisenstein. “Even though they’re passing every one of their classes, because they can’t pass the high-stakes exam, that could be the difference between them receiving their diploma or being able to attend college.” Read article