In an effort to turn down the heat in the kitchen, state Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak has stopped the development of state public high school graduation exams -- for now.

The secretary sent a letter to the chairmen of the state Senate and House education committees emphasizing his support of a "collaborative process" and saying money won't be spent to develop the exams, known as Keystone Exams, at this point.

"Over the past few months, we have had countless discussions and hearings on this matter, and I remain committed to a collaborative process that will result in substantial and positive impact for Pennsylvania's children," Mr. Zahorchak wrote in the letter dated Friday.

"Therefore, under the current circumstance and to allow the emerging consensus to develop, we will not spend funds for state-mandated graduation test development under the Data Recognition (DRC) contract. We intend to revisit this issue when final form regulations, or the consensus we all hope for, is in place."

State Education Department spokesman Michael Race said this covers both mandatory and voluntary state graduation tests.

The idea of requiring students to pass state-mandated, end-of-course exams to graduate long has been controversial, but the topic became even more heated last month, when the state Department of Education signed a seven-year, $201 million contract with Data Recognition Corp. to develop exams, a model curriculum and tools to help diagnose students' learning needs.

The department will continue spending money on the model curriculum and the diagnostic tools, which Mr. Zahorchak wrote "enjoy broad support."

The DRC contract comes at a time the state faces a $3.2 billion budget deficit and while the state Board of Education was under a moratorium not to advance graduation regulations.

Last year, the Board of Education gave initial approval to a plan that would require high school students to pass at least six of 10 graduation competency assessments or a combination of other tests, such as Advanced Placement, or locally designed assessments that have been validated.

The Legislature placed a moratorium on the board to stop further action until the end of this month, but provided $8 million in the 2008-09 budget for assessment development.

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association has opposed mandatory graduation exams, but in March the PSBA and the state Department of Education reached an agreement on a variation called the "Keystone Exams."

Other organizations -- including the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers in Pennsylvania -- weighed in with another variation called Keystone Exams 2.0, which could become mandatory but count only 20 percent of a student's grade.

The PSBA's position has angered some of its members who believe that the Keystone Exams aren't in keeping with the organization's platform against mandatory graduation exams or the more than 200 resolutions passed by school boards opposing the exams.

Last week, the Mars Area school board sent the PSBA a letter terminating its membership at the end of this month for "reasons that are magnified during the ongoing graduation competency/Keystone Exams debate."

PSBA executive director Tom Gentzel said he was "obviously disappointed" in that decision and said he thinks the PSBA acted in concert with the platform approved by members.