ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 1997           TAG: 9702260080
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: C-5  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press

STATE SCHOOL BOARD OKS PLAN FOR ADDED CLASSES

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS would have to take more history, math and science. Then they would have to pass statewide tests in several subjects to graduate.

The state Board of Education decided Tuesday to accept a proposal requiring students to take more math, science and history classes and to pass statewide tests to graduate.

But the board said it would get input from teachers and education experts before putting into effect the proposal unveiled Monday by the Department of Education.

The department proposed requiring high school students who want to earn a standard diploma to take four history classes instead of three, and three courses each in math and science instead of two. Then they would have to pass statewide tests in a variety of subjects to graduate.

The tests would be phased in over three years instead of all at once as originally proposed, the board decided.

That takes some of the pressure off eighth-graders, who will be the first to face the new requirements, said board member Cheri Yecke.

``If I had a child in eighth grade and I knew my child had to pass something like 12 tests in order to graduate, I'd be in a panic,'' she said.

Schools will be judged on how well students perform on the tests. Those with low test scores would have to devise a plan for improvement, said Richard La Pointe, superintendent of public instruction. If the school continued to perform poorly, the state could obtain a court order forcing it to correct the problem, he said.

``We ought to have minimum standards so that no matter where a child lives, no matter how rich or poor, [parents] have the expectation that that child will get a good education,'' said board member Lil Tuttle.

Virginia Education Association President Cheri James, however, said she was concerned about using test scores to evaluate schools, because of the disparities between wealthy and poor districts.

Poor schools should not be expected to improve their test scores without additional resources, time or training, James said.

The board plans to hold public hearings on the proposals in late March and early April, and the standards are expected to be finalized at the board's May 22 meeting.

They will become effective July 27.

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