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Connections

State scraps Regents exam requirement. What does it mean for students?

Three men wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at left has short grey hair, a grey beard and is wearing eyeglasses, a grey blazer and a plaid button-down shirt; a man at center has very short dark hair and is wearing a beige polo shirt; a balding man at right is wearing a blue plaid button-down shirt and blue jeans.
Don Perry
/
WXXI News
Wade Norwood and Adrian Hale with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Thursday, September 17, 2026
WXXI News

The New York State Board of Regents voted this week to eliminate Regents exams as a graduation requirement.

The move has stirred debate, with some leaders in higher education saying that the exams were never a good use of students’ time. Meanwhile, critics say they worry that the state is lowering its standards.

What went into the decision? And what do the changes mean for students and educators? We welcome two members of the New York State Board of Regents.

In studio:

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.