HARRISBURG -- House and Senate Republicans are vowing a pitched battle in 2009 to try to block Gov. Ed Rendell's controversial high school "competency exams," which students would have to pass to earn their diplomas.

The Graduation Competency Assessments would cover four areas of high school study -- math, science, English and social studies.

There would be 10 different tests: algebra 1 and 2; geometry; biology; chemistry; English composition and literature; plus American history, civics and world history. In order to graduate, a student would have to pass at least six of the 10 exams, including at least one in each of the four areas.

Mr. Rendell and his education secretary, Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, say the new tests are needed to prove that high school students have mastered important core subjects before they graduate. Doing so, they argue, will help ensure that Pennsylvania students are qualified to go on to college or enter the increasingly technical workforce.

"We cannot afford to wait any longer," said Dr. Zahorchak, a former school superintendent in Johnstown, Cambria County. "Further delay puts our young people at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy. ... An unprepared workforce means Pennsylvania cannot attract employers, add jobs or build communities."

The fight over the new tests might seem a bit premature, since the class of 2014 would be the first group to graduate under these requirements. But students could take the tests earlier than their senior year, so the tests, if approved and funded by the Legislature, could begin in about three years.

The timing for any new program is risky, however, because the governor is forecasting a state budget deficit of at least $1.6 billion by the end of the current fiscal year June 30, and fiscal problems are likely to continue into the next state budget year. Mr. Rendell has already imposed a hiring freeze, banned out-of-state travel, told his departments to trim their spending and halted raises for thousands of state employees.

Republicans say they aren't convinced a new type of graduation test is needed. They don't think the state should be embarking on such an expensive program in a time of financial troubles.

Senate Republican Whip Jane Orie of McCandless estimated it will cost the state at least $40 million to develop the new tests, an amount she calls "mind-boggling" in light of the state's financial problems. Local school districts will need additional funds to implement it, critics said.

Ms. Orie vowed last week to sponsor a bill when the 2009-10 General Assembly session begins in January "to prohibit the Department of Education from moving forward on any Graduation Competency Assessments plan."

The exit exams have also ruffled House GOP feathers.

Minority leader Sam Smith of Punxsutawney and Reps. Stan Saylor of York and Bernie O'Neill of Bucks, who is a former special eduction teacher, claim the exams are an unnecessary and expensive duplication of the existing Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. PSSA math, reading, writing and now science tests are required of students in various grades, including 11th.

Democrat Rendell, said Mr. Saylor, "wants to spend money we don't have on a test we don't need. Only an out-of-touch politician could continue to look for ways to spend while most Pennsylvanians are looking for ways to save."

Some local school boards across the state are also fearful that the state Education Department may be trying to gain too much control over local educational curricula and classroom standards.

"Our General Assembly needs to ... put a stop to this once and for all," said Kimberly D. Geyer, president of the Mars Area School Board.

She is upset that Dr. Zahorchak issued a request for proposals from firms interested in developing the new tests in late August and received replies in October.

The GOP said the administration had agreed not to move forward with the Graduation Competency Assessments before the start of the next fiscal year in July. It contends the administration is spending up to $9 million this year toward developing the exams, including costs of seeking the requests for proposals.

The Education Department agreed not to establish new state regulations governing the tests before July, "and we have stuck to that in letter and in spirit," said spokesman Michael Race. But the department never agreed to do nothing at all this year regarding test development, he added.

Besides the $9 million allocated this year, the Legislature still must decide whether to include additionalfunding for the tests in the 2009-10 state budget, which takes effect July 1. The House and Senate education committees also must review the regulations to be developed for the exams, and a battle is expected.

Chuck Ardo, a Rendell spokesman, said much of the criticism has come from "political ideologues [who] resort to the rubric of local [school] control rather than taking steps to prepare our future workforce for the challenges of the high-skills global economy."

Other critics, he said, are "people invested in the current system of diplomas with questionable value." Some of them, he said, may be "intentionally misleading Pennsylvanians about our plan to make sure high school graduates are ready for college or the workforce.''

Some opponents think the tests would be mandatory for use in every school district, but Mr. Race said that's not correct. The exit exams would be "optional," meaning a district can use its own locally developed exams, as long they are as rigorous as the Graduation Competency Assessments and are approved by the Education Department. But this optional aspect has drawn additional criticism from Ms. Orie, who said it makes even less sense to spend $40 million on a "voluntary'' test.

Secondly, some people mistakenly think the competency exams would be administered only to high school seniors. Mr. Race said the tests could be taken in any year of high school.

For example, students who complete a biology test in 10th grade could take the test then while information is still fresh in their minds. A student who fails could receive remedial instruction and retake the test later.