Today the Pennsylvania Senate Education Committee will discuss Gov. Ed Rendell's proposed high school exit exam proposal. The problem is, evidence from states with graduation tests shows they have not improved educational quality or equity. Exam requirements instead have narrowed curriculum, contributed to student disengagement and decreased graduation rates.

The belief that exit exams add value to high school diplomas is based on a number of myths.

• Myth No. 1: Graduation tests promote the knowledge and skills students need to succeed in college and the labor force.

According to college professors and employers, high school graduates must be able to analyze conflicting explanations, support arguments with evidence, solve complex problems that have no obvious answer, reach conclusions, conduct research and engage in the give-and-take of ideas. Also needed are good study and time-management skills. Exit exams do not measure most of these important attributes, so test scores have little value for colleges or employers.

• Myth No. 2: Graduation tests make high school diplomas more valuable to employers.

There is no evidence that exit exams make diplomas more meaningful in the labor market. In fact, recent research found no positive impact on employment status or wages in states with high school exit exams. There was also no impact on numbers of high school graduates going to college.

• Myth No. 3: Standards-based high school tests match up with necessary jobs skills.

Most tests just try to measure basic academic skills. They rely primarily on multiple-choice questions, some adding a few short written pieces. They rarely require students to apply their learning or engage in higher-level thinking. According to Stanford Prof. Linda Darling-Hammond, "Most jobs in today's knowledge-based economy require that we find, assemble and analyze information, write and speak clearly and persuasively, and work with others to solve messy problems," none of which are measured by multiple-choice exams.

• Myth No. 4: Preparing for exit exams helps build college-level skills.

On the contrary, a focus on learning out-of-context facts to pass exit exams detracts from preparing students for the work required in college. A survey of professors and employers by Achieve, an organization that promotes standards and tests, found many high school graduates are weak in comprehending complex reading, communicating orally, understanding complicated materials, doing research and producing quality writing.

• Myth No. 5: The widespread adoption of exit exams means more high school graduates are prepared for college.

Exit exam policies now influence the education of 65 percent of U.S. public high school students, yet colleges report increasing need for remedial education. Federal statistics indicate that 40 percent of college students take at least one remedial course, reducing their probability of graduating. Texas colleges reported in-state high school graduates needed more, not less, remediation after high-stakes testing was introduced.

• Myth No. 6: High school graduates would be better prepared if schools were to "raise standards" by making exams harder.

Tougher multiple-choice questions will not address the real gap between tests and the requirements of college or work. Such strategies also ignore research on human motivation, assuming that simply "raising standards" and threatening punishment by withholding diplomas will make students and teachers work harder.

Exit exams are not the only way to assess students and hold them accountable. High-quality assessment methods, such as performances, exhibitions and portfolios, have been shown to promote the development of skills, knowledge and disposition actually valued in college and employment. Employers have said they are more interested in examples of student work and problem-solving, such as portfolios of work, than they are in test results or grades.

Mr. Rendell, state legislators and Pennsylvania citizens have an opportunity to look beyond the mythology surrounding high school graduation tests. Instead, they should adopt more sensible assessment policies that promote, rather than interfere with, the work that must be done to improve our public schools. The payoff will be more graduates who are ready to succeed in higher education and work and become engaged, taxpaying citizens.