Pennsylvania Attorney General Eugene DePasquale is calling for the state to discontinue the Keystone Exams on the grounds that the tests are costly and not federally required.

It’s hard to argue with the attorney general on the matter, considering that at least 12 other states use the SAT or ACT to meet federal requirements for a secondary-level standardized test.

DePasquale also said that the state could pay for every high school student to take the PSAT or SAT and it would cost less than the amount it pays to fund the Keystone Exams.

All in all, the attorney general said the Keystone is costing taxpayers about $100 million between 2015 and 2021, although the federal requirement for a state-specific secondary test was lifted four years ago to allow states to choose more cost-effective standardized tests.

We agree with the AG that it would have been understandable for the state to continue to administer the Keystone for a short period of time after the federal change of policy, but the state’s Department of Education signed a new contract in 2016 with a Minnesota-based company, which oversees the exams, through June 2021.

Both previous and new federal laws require states to administer standardized tests that cover three subject areas: math (algebra I for secondary students), English (literature for secondary students) and science.

But with the requirement for a state-specific test being removed, the Keystone could have been replaced with a nationally recognized standardized test, such as the ACT or SAT.

DePasquale’s report makes a solid case for phasing out the Keystone Exams, especially in light of education funding in the state.

For starters, a proposal to increase wages for the state’s lowest paid teachers didn’t get funded in this year’s budget, despite having some bipartisan support. And municipalities have long argued that the state’s annual increases in education spending haven’t kept up with the mandated costs for such things as special education or health care.

A study late last year by Pennsylvania’s Education Law Center found that special education costs in the state increase by $200 million per year. Between 2008 and 2016, state funding increased by $72 million, but special education costs grew by $1.5 billion, the report found.

In other words, there are areas of great importance that are in desperate need of funding in the state’s education budget, but also areas where large amounts of money are being unnecessarily spent — such as, according to the attorney general, the Keystone Exams.

The state’s Department of Education has said it is willing to consider replacing the Keystone with another test, but that any change would require federal approval. We suggest that the state seriously consider this option.

— NCD