By Jacky Gerzema
"He was a culinary student, he didn't even want to go to college," said his fiance, Shakyra Craig, an East Meadow senior and cosmetology student at BOCES. "And here he was, having to pass these exams that really wouldn't make a difference once he got out of high school and if he didn't pass them, he wouldn't graduate."
While Howell did pass his Regents and graduated, he now works for Pepsi as a distributor. He has no desire to go to a four-year college but plans to attend a culinary school in Manhattan next year.
Howell is among many technical/career education students who want to pursue a career based on specialized skills rather than academic knowledge, and who now have to find time to balance both academic Regents requirements and their technological education.
This year's incoming high school freshmen in the state of New York have an even bigger challenge ahead of them than their predecessors did. They will be the first class required to pass five Regents exams with a score of 65 or higher to receive a diploma.
In previous years, students had to pass four Regents with scores set by their local school districts, which could be as low as 50.
Many business leaders, students and technical/career educators are concerned that the new Regents exam requirements may prevent future students from pursuing a technical and career-related education, which in turn, could adversely impact the local economy.
sub: As enrollment dwindles, businesses worry
While educators say it is too soon to predict the impact of new Regents rules, many are concerned that students will not have time to take career classes if they are placed into remedial classes to help them pass the tests.
"If you don't pass math or science freshman year, you have to have academic intervention courses and the time you have available dwindles," said Kathy Lynch-Naidich, executive director of the Department of Career and Technical Education at Nassau BOCES. "Over time, this could prevent students from taking these classes altogether."
Lynch-Naidich said many people assume that Technical/Career Education (TCE) students are not as intelligent as students who do well academically. This is not the case, she argued. It simply means they think differently and can excel in a technical area where the traditional student cannot.
"These kids see relevance in career/technical programs," she said. "They don't do as well in Regents exams, because they're very language-oriented."
Lynch-Naidich said that as states have raised their test standards, CTE enrollment has declined. In New York state, the enrollment in technical classes has been declining over the past ten years, and BOCES has seen a decrease in students over the past few years.
While she supports the Regents exams to a certain degree, Lynch-Naidich said her primary concern is for the students who wish to pursue technical education and can't.
"We certainly want literacy and necessary skills to be taught in our schools so these students will be productive members of society in the future," she said. "But there is a question of whether or not students are being denied opportunities that help them to learn things in different ways and formats, and learn skills that will make them successful in life."
And business leaders say that lack of highly skilled labor is already impacting the local economy.
Matt Crosson, director of the Long Island Association, an organization of business leaders, said there is a great need for technical expertise in Long Island's workforce. Car mechanics earn nearly $100,000 per year because there is a shortage of skilled mechanics on Long Island, he said. Defense-related companies have told him their biggest problem was finding technicians.
"There is a significant problem," said Crosson. "It's a matter of serious concern and it needs to be watched very closely."
Recent rules adopted by the New York State Board of Regents now allow for a career/technical educational endorsement on a high school diploma. While the endorsement is helpful to those who want to pursue a career in a technical-related field, students will have to pass an additional sixth exam in their area of technical expertise.
Because of the extra requirements, Crosson thinks "the cards are stacked in a way to suggest students will" back away from a technical education.
subhed: Baldwin tries to strike a balance
As the debate over standardized testing rages nationwide, Baldwin School District's Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Jeffrey Hollman said that Regents exams come with both positive and negative effects on schools and students.
"We've raised standards for everybody and we are being successful to a large degree," he said. "The bad part is these classes are very college preparatory. Because some kids need a lot of extra help to achieve those levels, they might take remedial classes instead."
While trade and home economics classes were eliminated at the high school he used to work at, Hollman said that the school district will keep TCE available to BSHS students.
Richard Miskiewicz, assistant principal at BSHS who supervises technical and career education, said he thinks Regents requirements will affect Baldwin to a degree, but not significantly. BSHS has a nine-period day which allows more time to combine academic intervention and career classes into a student's schedule.
But John Murr, consultant for the business department at BSHS, said that even crucial computer skills are put on the back burner in order to teach to Regents exams.
"In today's world, where computer applications are so necessary, some students can't take our [computer] courses," he said. "It's an injustice for the high school-to-work student. If they're in remedial courses and can't take computer courses here and want to, they have to go to local business colleges which cost money. For a decade, businesses have been complaining that they have to train employees for computer skills. Any student with computer or technical skills have a step up to those without in job interviews."
The New York State Board of Regents said they are cognizant of the need to balance both academic and technical skills.
"The Board of Regents has addressed the issue of combining career/tech ed with Regents requirements," said Tom Dunn, spokesperson for the New York State Department of Education. "What they have initially done is they have loosened up course requirements so technical education kids can combine math with electronic engineering or English with woodshop."
subhed: For students, a mixed bag
East Meadow High School senior and BOCES cosmetology student Shakyra Craig, is one student who benefits from both her career/technical education and her academic one. She will have her license in cosmetology after she graduates this year, but she plans on using that as her "back up."
"I want to go to NYU and major in journalism and communications, so the Regents are important," she said. "I do hair well and this is something that I can fall back on if I have to support myself at some point during college or while looking for another job related to my degree."
As for Regents exams requirements, Craig said they "aren't for everyone," as in the case of her fiance Deverett Howell.
BSHS senior and Nassau BOCES student Lenny Bereznicki said he worked toward the A-plus certification in computer network technology last year. The certificate shows employers that he has the knowledge and skills necessary for an entry-level job in the field.
Two exams were required to pass the certification and Bereznicki said he had some trouble balancing his classes and studying for both the A-plus certification and his Regents exams. While the Regents exams are beneficial, Bereznicki said he doesn't feel they are an integral part to the computer networking field and other similar careers that require specialized skills.
While the Regents may help some students get into four-year colleges, Bereznicki said his computer certification is much more valuable as a ticket into a two-year technology school, where he plans to get an Associate's Degree in PC electronics.
"Regents really has nothing to do with what I'm doing," he said. "It's good to know some American history and have basic knowledge of subjects, but the Regents are of no real benefit other than being able to answer a few Jeopardy questions."
