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Amherst schools brace for New York's "Portrait of a Graduate" shifts to proficiency, new credits and rubrics
Summary
Dr. Shanahan told the Amherst Central School District board the state's Portrait of a Graduate (Board of Regents, July 2025) creates six attributes students must demonstrate; rubrics, credit changes and timelines (cohorts into 2027'29) are pending and will require local planning and community engagement.
Dr. Shanahan, presenting to the Amherst Central School District Board of Education, outlined major upcoming changes from New York State that will change how students earn diplomas and how districts document learning.
"There are going to be a lot of not answers tonight," Dr. Shanahan said as she described the state's Portrait of a Graduate, approved by the Board of Regents in July 2025, which defines six attributes (formerly called competencies) that districts will score in addition to academic standards. "We will be scoring kids on these competencies as well as the meeting of the standards." (Dr. Shanahan)
Why it matters: The state is shifting away from a seat-time credit model toward proficiency-based credit, proposing multiple pathways such as internships, capstones, portfolios and seals or endorsements. The change would decouple passing Regents exams from the narrow…
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