HARRISBURG — High school English teacher Kevin Deely has seen for himself that standardized tests cannot predict whether his students are ready for college.

One of his Easton Area High School students, whose writing skills weren't deemed proficient on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or PSSA, is now attending Columbia University in New York City.

Deely, who said he considered the girl a "gifted" writer based on her classroom performance, was among about a dozen teachers who urged a State Board of Education committee on Wednesday not to approve new regulations that call for students to pass a series of state-sanctioned tests before they can graduate from high school, starting with the class of 2014.

"How is ... any graduation exam an indication of how well a student has learned any concepts?" Deely said. "Having a graduation exam is just going to hurt things for our students."

The panel voted unanimously to send the proposed regulations to the full board, which is expected to consider them today. Approval by the full board would trigger a regulatory review process that could take as long as a year to complete before the rules become official.

Under the proposal, students would have to pass final examinations covering English, math, science and social studies during their high-school years. Schools would have to provide remedial help for failing students and give them opportunities to retake the tests.

The state would create 10 subject-specific "graduation competency assessments" to measure students' graduation readiness; students would need to pass six to graduate. But school districts could also use alternative assessments to fulfill the testing requirement, including the PSSA; a local exam approved by companies that evaluate educational tests; or an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam.

Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said the testing requirement would ensure that students in all of the state's 501 school districts have met rigorous academic expectations when they graduate.

Students are currently required to pass either the PSSA or a locally designed test that measures how well they meet state standards.

But school districts that administer local tests are not required to seek state approval to ensure that those exams are as comprehensive. Critics say that creates graduation standards that vary from district to district.

"When we hand a student an empty diploma, for the next 35 years that student is at a disadvantage," Zahorchak said. "It's nothing to celebrate."

The department has estimated that administering the graduation competency exams will cost the state $36 million annually, but Zahorchak said the expense was extremely small compared to the more than $9 billion in state spending on basic education.

Nevertheless, other teachers told the board committee that their districts are already devoting substantial amounts of time and money preparing their students for the PSSA, which all 11th-grade students are required to take.

"Quite honestly, quantity is a bad investment," said Carl Rieffanaugh, a Norristown High School math teacher, referring to the number of graduation tests envisioned. "Quality is not cheap."