Students face graduation tests

High school students across the state will eventually be required to pass competency exams in order to graduate.

The State Board of Education is developing examinations in English, math, science and social studies. A student will have to pass one of two tests designed to check on preparedness for college and for the work force.

Specific plans will be released in January, according to board chairman Karl Girton.

"This is a significant change in the way we do business, and so we want to make sure that we're doing it in a responsible way," Girton said.

Twenty-five other states either have or are introducing mandatory high school exit exams. Pennsylvania's testing requirement would kick in starting with students who will be ninth-graders in the 2009-10 school year.

School administrators have many questions about how the tests will work, such as what will be considered a passing score and how the tests will align with a high school's curriculum, said a spokesman for the Pa. Assn. of School Administrators.