Good to see NY state raising high school graduation standards.  My experience is that big organizations are like little children: they will live up to – or down to – whatever expectation you set for them:

When the State Education Department announced five years ago that all students would soon be required to pass five tests to earn high school diplomas in New York, officials applauded themselves for raising standards.

The new requirements do not take full effect until the class of 2012 graduates. What is clear is that if they were in place today, New York City's graduation rate would almost certainly drop after years of climbing steadily.

What is not so evident, educators and testing experts say, is whether the higher bar will inspire students and schools to greatness, or merely make them lean more heavily on test-taking strategies. Nor is there agreement on whether it will actually make a difference in how students perform in high school and beyond.

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New Diploma Standard in New York Becomes a Multiple-Question Choice

By JENNIFER MEDINA

Published: June 27, 2010

www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/education/28regents.html