Sen. Jane Orie Negative on Tests

If Pennsylvania state Senator Jane Orie, R-McCandless, gets her way, Pennsylvania students won't have to take or pass any of the state's proposed high school graduation exams. Her bill opposing such exams was just approved by the state Senate.

While that's great news for Sen. Orie, who can put another notch in her belt in her partisan bickering with Democratic Governer Ed Rendell, it's bad news for the state's students. The schools test for every thing imaginable. We have the PSSA (Pennsylvania System of School Assessment) Tests, which play a major role in securing school funding. Since money is involved, the PSSAs are important enough that they provide the focus of the entire year's educational program.

But graduation exams? Let's just skip them. Who cares if we put unqualified graduates out onto the street?

Sen. Orie's bill would still need to pass the state House, which is far from certain, and would be certain to be vetoed by Gov. Rendell. So the whole thing is just a political play by Sen. Orie.

You can read all about it in an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, One of America's Great Newspapers.