Oregon education officials are continuing to spin their wheels, as they have for years, trying to toughen the requirements for earning a high school diploma.

They are considering three ways for students to graduate with a diploma:

* Pass existing state tests in reading, writing and math.

* Reach a certain score on college aptitude tests.

* Or pass some local assessment based on work samples and portfolios graded according to some yet-to-be-developed statewide guide.

This seems needlessly complicated, especially since the state Board of Education has already decided to increase the course requirements for graduation from 22 to 24 credits including higher-level math and more science.

The first question that arises is this: If high school students take all those credits as required, and pass the classes, why do we want to require anything else to prove that they learned something?

If it's a question of the state not trusting schools to make sure that instruction is effective and grading is properly done, then what would be gained by letting those same schools devise local alternative methods to show that diplomas had been earned?

As for the state tests we already have, one-third of the students taking them do not pass in reading and nearly half fail in writing and math. It is assumed that if the tests mattered, and if failing had consequences, more students would pass, but many still would not.

So devising local assessments that differ from school to school, and even from student to student, are simply ways to circumvent the awkward fact of not being able to pass the state tests, right?

Oregon faces this problem: The tests have shown that too many teenagers in high school can't or don't pass them. Education officials guess that even if the testing meant something tangible, 20 percent still would not pass them.

So what's the problem exactly? The young people who pass the tests or all their required classes should get a diploma, and those who don't should not. That simple approach would be a strong incentive for teenagers to take high school seriously, and for schools to make sure that their teaching methods work. (hh)