NATION : Mandatory School Exam Urged
WASHINGTON — A new education group chaired by former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean today proposed a mandatory national achievement test for all high school seniors attending public and private schools.
Educate America, based in Morristown, N.J., made the national exam proposal its first initiative in a campaign to “drive the education policy agenda for the 1990s.”
Kean, now president of Drew University in Madison, N.J., said a national test would motivate students and provide a “reliable accountability system for students, schools and states. If America is to remain competitive, all students must leave high school skilled to be as creative as they can be.”
Under the proposal, all high school seniors would be given a battery of tests to measure proficiency in reading, writing, mathematics, history, geography and science. Test results would complement the high school diploma and transcript and be forwarded to colleges or employers.
The tests would be administered free of charge each November by a national contractor. All major testing companies would have an opportunity to bid competitively for the job.
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