The story of the Institute for Health Professions at Cambria Heights illustrates the positive impact of using performance assessments rather than relying on the state Regents exams.

For more than two decades, the New York Performance Standards Consortium, a coalition of 38 public high schools, has steered clear of high-stakes testing, which superficially assess student learning. Instead, the consortium's approach relies on performance-based assessments--essays, research papers, science experiments, and high-level mathematical…