ALBANY (TNS) — Members of the Board of Regents debated the value of the Regents exams Monday as part of an overall planned examination of the state testing system and graduation requirements that had been delayed due to the pandemic.

“Maybe the Regents exams are not the be-all and end-all,” said Regent Roger Tilles during a meeting that also included a presentation about how students graduate high school in other states and countries. “We have kids that can’t pass a Regents exam but pass all their courses. Should they be denied a future because they can’t pass a Regents test in one area?”

But the rigorous exams get students prepared for the future, argued Regent Catherine Collins.

“I hope the state does not get rid of the Regents,” she said. “I was fortunate enough to have the Regents science diploma, which gave me the foundation to go into health care.”

The discussion comes after graduation rates increased during two years without Regents exams, due to the pandemic. For now, the Regents are back, but a Blue Ribbon Commission is expected to weigh in on new high school diploma requirements next year. The commission was announced in 2019, but the pandemic led to a slowdown and the commission wasn’t named until last year.

The state Education Department said in an email to the Times Union later Monday afternoon that “the Board was not debating whether to eliminate Regents exams. Rather, they were discussing a 166-page report that has been in the making for three years and heard a presentation based on (the) report’s literature review, policy scan and stakeholder feedback.”

The statement also said “the Regents will not consider any changes to the state’s graduation requirements until the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures makes its recommendations.”

In 2019, Education Commissioner Betty Rosa made it clear that she did not think the Regents exams are “working” for every student, and questioned whether the tests improved college readiness, among other factors. She has pressed for alternative paths to a high school diploma, including career and technical programs.

At Monday’s meeting, she urged the Regents to have an open mind.

“We really have to take into account not what worked for us, but what will work down the road,” she said. “At the end of the day, our job is to keep in mind what our students need for the future.”

Chancellor of the Board Lester Young Jr. was adamant that the board make no decision right now.

“We have to let the Blue Ribbon Commission do its work,” he said during a break. “The board has not made any decision regarding what the new process will look like.”

But the graduation process should look significantly different, Regent Aramina Ferrer said.

“We want to craft something in New York State that will meet students where they are,” she said. “We want to look at something different for New York State.”

For now, students must pass four Regents exams to get a high school diploma: proficiency tests in math, English, a science and social studies.

Exit exams can decrease high school graduation rates, with more students dropping out unless they have an alternative to an exam, researchers said.

Increasing the requirements for math and science courses “widen the gap” between those who go on to college and those who don’t get a high school diploma, they said.

Researchers also look at Canada, England, Germany and Switzerland. Those countries have more robust apprenticeship programs and often students only take an exam to separate them before middle school, rather than an exit exam, the researchers said.

But even in other states, exit exams in multiple courses aren’t always required. Massachusetts requires one exam. Pennsylvania and Ohio offer various ways to show proficiency in required subjects, rather than only by test.

Tilles questioned even the need to require certain courses for everyone.

“I think we are tethered to a system that might not be the best system to create adults,” he said.