A state proposal to require high school students to pass a series of state-sanctioned tests to graduate draws low marks from school officials in Butler County.

The regulations call for students to pass tests covering English, math, science and social studies during their high school years. They would replace traditional final exams, starting with the class of 2014.

Superintendent Ed Fink of the Butler School District said there are too many unanswered questions about the graduation tests.

For instance, he said, questions about who would pay for them, how much it would cost to implement the tests and what third party would verify district-customized tests haven't been answered.

"Some local control would be lost with this," he said.

He also said there are questions about what requirements special education students would need to meet and how vocational-technical skills would be included on the tests.

The state board plans to adopt the proposal on Thursday, beginning a regulatory review that could take a year to complete before the proposal becomes official.

The board had a hearing in Harrisburg Wednesday on the plan.

The state would create 10 subject-specific "graduation competency assessments" to measure students' graduation readiness, and students would need to pass six to graduate.

Schools would have to provide remedial help for failing students and give them opportunities to retake the tests.

Karns City Superintendent Larry Henry has concerns about the tests.

"I believe very strongly in local control, and I believe if the local districts issue the diploma, they should have the control," he said.

He said the proposed tests won't take effect for about six years, and there is a "long legal process" to go through.

Mars School District Superintendent William Pettigrew agreed that some way to measure public school students is necessary, but he fears the fallout from standardized testing.

He said school district leaders should choose the curriculum they feel would best prepare their students for college and for after school. He said aligning curriculum for success on a standardized test is detrimental to education.

Pettigrew said the stakes are too high in the graduation tests touted by Gov. Ed Rendell, who Pettigrew said is not an expert on public education.

"I really see this whole thing as the governor and his staff having no regard for educators in this state," Pettigrew said. "Education is not being run by educators."

He also questions where and by whom the test is produced. He said a corporation in another state with no interest in Pennsylvania's educational goals would likely create and score the test.

"So you have this high stakes test done by somebody, somewhere, somehow," Pettigrew said. "And if you don't pass it, you don't graduate."

Pettigrew called Rendell's backing of the test "political" and suggested the governor's main focus is to appear as though he cares about or has expertise in public education.

On the financial side, Pettigrew said taxpayers will pay millions to produce another test that will only serve to impede local control of school districts.

"I don't think it's a good idea," he said.

Kathy Nogay, superintendent of Slippery Rock School District, said she hates to see additional testing added to the curriculum.

"I'm not opposed to them (the new graduation tests), but will they take the place of something else?" she said. "Why, if students meet the competency, do they need the 11th-grade PSSA's? This is really just another layer of assessment."

She's not opposed to the concept of testing competency before graduation, but she said, "I just think a lot of inconsistencies need to be addressed."

The Rev. Mike Scheer, Slippery Rock School Board president, said he isn't sure whether he'd approve of the new testing. When testing issues come up, he always thinks about the students who have difficulty with standardized tests.

"There needs to be room for kids who can't take that type of test," he said.

Creating tests that are uniform for all students statewide also is a concern for Scheer.

"Kids in Philadelphia and here will take the same test,"he said.

When experiences are so diverse, it would make testing difficult, he said.

"I'm always concerned that the state controls too much of what could be done at the local level," Scheer said.

Under the proposed rules, students could demonstrate proficiency in a given subject by passing the PSSA; a graduation competency assessment; a local exam approved by companies that evaluate educational tests; or an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exam.

Eagle staff writers Kris Miller, Paula Grubbs and Megan Duncan and the Associated Press contributed to this report.