Citing Deficit, Governor Now Proposes Wis. Delay Exam

By Julie Blair

Wisconsin's hotly debated high school graduation exam, scheduled to be pilot- tested in April, would be delayed for two years because of a lack of funding, under a proposal Gov. Scott McCallum has submitted to lawmakers.

"We've got a $1.2 billion deficit" in the current biennial budget, said Tim Roby, a spokesman for the Republican governor. "While the high school graduation test is important," he said, "we've got bigger fish to fry."

If the plan is approved by the legislature this spring—as expected— students would take a pilot assessment to gauge their grasp of English, mathematics, social studies, and science in 2004, said Anthony S. Evers, the state education department's deputy superintendent. Passing scores on the test would become one of a battery of requirements for graduation beginning with the class of 2006, unless parents chose to keep their children...