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Standards and Instruction

General Education and Diploma Requirements

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Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation with Honors

To earn a Regents diploma with advanced designation with honors, a student needs to have a computed average score of 90 or higher on all Regents examinations required for the diploma (no rounding up is permitted).The assessment requirements for advanced designation include the following Regents exams or NYSED-Approved Regents Examination Alternatives:​

In instances where students received exemptions from Regents examinations, the calculation for the honors endorsement will be dependent upon the number of scored Regents examinations the student has (applicable to the diploma type).

  • Students with a minimum of three scored Regents examinations applicable to the diploma
    • In instances where students have at least three scored Regents examinations to be included in the assessments required for the diploma type, exemptions due to COVID-19 are removed from the calculation. If the computed average of the Regents examination scores required for the diploma (not including exemptions) equals 90 or above, the student earned the honors endorsement.
  • Students with fewer than three scored Regents examinations applicable to the diploma
    • The student’s final course grade for each exempted Regents examination will be substituted in the calculation for honors. If the computed average of the scored Regents examinations and the final course grades for courses for which exemptions were granted equals 90 or above, the student earned the honors endorsement.

NYSED-Approved Regents Examination Alternatives

Students who substitute more than 2 NYSED-Approved Regents Examination Alternatives for these required Regents exams are not eligible for the honors endorsement.

Transfer Students

In order to earn advanced designation, students must pass two science Regents examinations or NYSED-Approved Regents Examination Alternatives (one life science, one physical science).  Therefore students who transfer to a New York State high school for the first time in grade 12 and wish to earn the Regents diploma with advanced designation with honors, may only waive the Regents Exam in Global History and Geography.

Students who waive two exams due to transfer status may earn a Regents diploma with honors.  The requirements to receive a high school diploma with honors remain the same, except with a fewer number of required Regents examinations and with appropriate annotations on transcripts and permanent records. 

Computing the Honors Endorsement (Examples with Advanced Designation)

Example 1

English Language Arts (ELA) 70
Algebra I 100
Geometry 98
Algebra II 100
Earth Science 97
Living Environment 97
US History & Government 68
AP Calculus AB Exam 4
Average 90

This student earned a Regents diploma with advanced designation with honors.  The student's computed average equals 90 (70 + 100 + 98 + 100 + 97 + 97 + 68 = 630/7 = 90).  The student chose the STEM (Mathematics) Pathway; therefore, the average is based only on the 7 Regents exam scores. 

Example 2 (with exemptions)

English Language Arts (ELA) E
Algebra I 92
Geometry 94

Algebra II

Final Course Grade: 98 

 E
Living Environment 90
Earth Science 89

Chemistry

Final Course Grade: 95

 E
Global Studies and Geography 98
Average 92.6

This student earned a Regents diploma with advanced designation with honors. Since the student has at least three scored Regents examinations applicable to the diploma type, the exemptions are removed from the calculation for the honors endorsement. With the exemptions removed from the calculation, the student's computed average equals 92.6 ((92 + 94 + 90 + 89 + 98) ÷ 5). Since the computed average of the Regents examination scores required for the diploma type equals 90 or above, the student earned the honors endorsement. The student’s final course grades are not considered in this case, since the student has at least three scored Regents examinations applicable to the diploma type. Note: In instances where students have more earned scores and/or exemptions than are required for the diploma type, the most beneficial combination may be used. 

Example 3 (with exemptions and additional assessments)

English Language Arts (ELA) 85

Algebra I

Final Course Grade: 94

 E

Geometry

Final Course Grade: 96

 E

Algebra II

 95

Living Environment

Final Course Grade: 100

 E

Earth Science

Final Course Grade: 91

 E

Physics

 68

Global Studies and Geography

Final Course Grade: 96

 E

US History and Government

Final Course Grade: 90

 E
Average* 93.375

This student earned a Regents diploma with advanced designation with honors. *Since the student has more earned scores and/or exemptions than are required for the diploma type, the most beneficial combination of earned scores and/or exemptions is used. Since the Physics Regents Exam is additional (and not required for the student to meet the assessment requirements), it does not need to be included in the honors computation. Since there are only two earned scores (applicable to the diploma type), the final course averages for the exemptions are included, and the student earned the honors endorsement. 

Additional information regarding the honors endorsement and Regents exam exemptions can be referenced in Computing the Honors Endorsement with Exemptions due to COVID-19 as well questions 44-46 of the Frequently Asked Questions Related to the June 2021 and August 2021 Exemptions from Diploma Requirements.