Pa. board gives initial OK to statewide exam

HARRISBURG - The state Board of Education gave initial approval yesterday to a plan that would require students to pass a series of state-sanctioned tests before they can receive high school diplomas.

The plan, approved 11-0 with one abstention, would effectively create a system of rolling exit exams for Pennsylvania's public high schools.

Starting with the class of 2014 - this year's sixth graders - students would have to pass final examinations covering English, math, science and social studies. Schools would be required to provide remedial help for those who fail and give them opportunities to retake the tests.

Proponents say the new requirement would ensure that students in all 501 school districts uniformly meet the state's academic standards when they graduate.

The state's largest teachers union and the Pennsylvania School Boards Association complain that it puts too much emphasis on a single test and undermines the authority of local school boards to set educational policy.

The four people who testified before the board yesterday spoke for organizations that oppose the plan.

"If we're so certain . . . this is needed for success, we have a room of successful people here. Let's all take the test, see if we would graduate," suggested William R. Hartman Jr., director of the Pennsylvania Association of Elementary and Secondary School Principals.

Board Chairman Karl R. Girton noted that both sides can make their cases as the state Independent Regulatory Review Commission scrutinizes the proposal in the months ahead. The Board of Education is expected to take a final vote after the commission's review, according to spokesman Mike Race.

Under the plan, the state would create 10 subject-specific "graduation competency assessments." Students would need to pass six to graduate.

Local exams could be substituted if they are approved by companies that evaluate educational tests. The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate exams also could be used as alternatives.