purpose of the Learning Standards “is to give our young people the skills and knowledge they need in order to be effective citizens, effective mothers and fathers, effective participants in our great democratic enterprise and people who can compete in an economy that is in the midst of a dramatic transformation.” Moreover, he testified that the Learning Standards “are not too high. These standards represent our judgment about what our young people need.” SED Deputy Commissioner for Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education, James A. Kadamus, testified that the standards “were based on studies that we had done of what it takes to be successful in the world of work and be successful in higher education, and so it is based on the current - _ what are the current requirements of the work force and higher education.” He testified that “[w]e want all students to achieve a certain set of standards without holding back students that could go way beyond that point, so we want both. We want all students to achieve the learning standards, and the students who have the motivation and capability who could go far beyond, we want the incentives to do that.” The standards are beyond the competency standards; they go beyond “basic literacy, calculating, and verbal skills.” The State relies on the latter statement and others in arguing that the Learning Standards are too high. A sound basic education requires teaching and learning the skills to become a productive citizen. Rudimentary reading, writing and math are not enough. Thus, the Learning Standards are high only to the extent that they require more than being able to perform simple math, and read and write at the most basic level. It is clear that in comparison to the RCTs, the Learning Standards are indeed rigorous.[23] In addition, they are rigorous to the extent the Regents and the SED have determined that being a productive citizen requires learning the skills the Learning Standards impart. The record clearly supports the view that the Learning Standards satisfy the minimum required by the Education Article. In any event, even if the Learning Standards offered more than the minimum required by the Education Article, the State has a Constitutional responsibility to ensure that students have the opportunity to meet those standards, since they are a prerequisite to a high school diploma ( see, 8 NYCRR §§ 3.35; 100.1[g],[t]; 100.2[e]; 100.5). The record establishes that the RCTs did not meet the constitutional minimum because at the high school level, they prepared students to read at an eighth grade level or perform sixth grade mathematics. As a result, students who obtained a local diploma were not assured that they received a high school