Students at Edward R. Murrow High School prepare for the English Regents exam

June 23, 1999
Web posted at: 9:26 p.m. EDT (0126 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) - A new high school exit exam in New York state is creating high anxiety among some teachers and students.

The test, the English Regents exam, used to be given to just honors-level students. But it is now mandatory for all students who want to graduate next year. No matter the grade point average, all students must pass this test.

"The public has told us clearly that they want standards of performance for all children to go up," said Richard Mills, New York education commissioner. "That's what we're doing."

It's called high-stakes testing. The idea is to raise standards and increase school accountability.

Testing critics say it's a good way for politicians to score with the public, but add that there are better ways to measure student performance than a six-hour test.

"You're taking all kids and you're putting them into a size nine shoe and they're not ready to go into a size nine shoe," said Saul Brucker, a New York high school principal.

"Learning is very complex," said Anne Cook, co-director of New York City's Urban Academy. "Assessments should be complex, too."

Columbia University Professor Jay Heubert also argued against the tests. "It doesn't make sense educationally, legally or any other way to penalize the students for not knowing what we haven't taught them," he said.

New York, however, is not alone in the high-stakes testing game. It is one of 19 states now requiring exit exams and six more states plan to add such tests by 2003.

But the true test for states who administer the exams may come in the courts, where challenges are already under way.

Correspondent Frank Buckley contributed to this story.

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