Corbett nominee says new high school tests will be delayed

HARRISBURG - Gov. Corbett's nominee to lead the state's Education Department said at his confirmation hearing Monday that implementation of the new Keystone high school graduation exams would be delayed because field tests had indicated students were not well enough prepared for them.

The first exams were to be given at many schools this spring in Algebra 1, biology, and literature. Tests in seven other subjects were to be phased in by the 2016-17 school year.

"It's a good time to take a step back and make sure that, when we go forward to implement a higher-stakes test, that our students are able to pass the test that . . . we're forcing them to pass," Ronald Tomalis said. "The preliminary indications are that it's going to be very challenging in many areas."

Tomalis told the Senate Education Committee, which unanimously approved his nomination, that more information about the delays would be announced Tuesday, when Corbett was to unveil his proposed state budget.

Tomalis, who worked for Dutko Worldwide/Whiteboard Advisors, a lobbying and public-affairs firm based in Washington, offered few details about the budget, which is expected to include cuts in aid to school districts.

He did offer a possible glimpse into Corbett's governing approach by saying, "I don't believe that money is quality."

He cited the example of a school district in New Jersey that spends $22,000 per child per year and that is "universally recognized as one of the worst-performing schools in New Jersey."

"To say that if we give that school district up to $25,000 a child will turn around the operations, I'm not so sure," Tomalis said. He did not identify the district.

What would make a difference, Tomalis said, was good teachers and principals.

In response to a question about early-childhood education, Tomalis said it was a priority for the administration.

He also said that the administration supported the advancement of Senate legislation to create a school-voucher program, but that it had some issues with specific parts of the bill. He declined to elaborate but said the governor planned to work with legislators to come up with a bill they could agree on.

Tomalis, who previously served in Pennsylvania as executive deputy secretary of education under Gov. Tom Ridge, is known as a strong supporter of school choice. He worked from 2001 to 2004 in the U.S. Department of Education, where he led implementation of the No Child Left Behind law.

Tomalis, 48, said there needed to be a "paradigm shift" in education, from a model where children and parents were told what school the child would attend, who the teacher would be, and what the curriculum would be, to one where students and families would have more choice.

"When you go into a grocery store, for us it was iceberg and romaine, now there's 15 kinds of lettuce," Tomalis said. "People in their 20s and 30s who have grown up - their entire existence has been about choice, consumer choice, choosing what works for them, and part of the learning process is learning what works for them.

"This is not an argument for vouchers, although I strongly believe in them," he continued. "It is an argument that we need to provide an education that focuses more on the needs of the individual child."

Asked by Sen. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery) how the department planned to help the public schools that would lose students and funding if a voucher program were implemented, Tomalis said the administration was looking at merit pay and other "tools" to allow local school administrators to make the changes they needed to improve.