The exams and their grading have been criticized as flawed and unfair: math scores have been invalidated, physics exams have been skewed so that unprecedented numbers of students have failed, literature passages have been censored and diminished. As an assessment tool, the Regents exams have been universally discredited.

These policies must end now, while we work to develop a statewide consensus on what a truly valid and reliable assessment system might be. We wholeheartedly support standards for all students, but we also recognize that we have not yet established the appropriate role for standardized testing within a larger, more comprehensive assessment system, one that employs a variety of methods to assess children's progress.