Speaking of schools, Oregon taxpayers have long wondered why the state insisted on developing its own achievement tests instead of buying some that were nationally validated. Now comes Greg Perry, a Corvallis parent and agricultural economist at Oregon State University, who raises another question: Has the state made its math tests easier in the late 1990s, and does this explain a rise in average math scores?

Writing in Brainstorm, the Portland-based magazine, Perry reports he has been watching test scores at Franklin School in Corvallis, where students have been taking the state tests but also the California Test of Basic Skills. He reports that while their CTBS scores remained relatively constant, their Oregon math scores rose significantly over the years.

He also writes he has been unable to check the difficulty of the state tests because the state won't give him copies from past years. Now some legislators, including Betsy Close, Jeff Kropf and Gary George, whose districts are in the mid-valley, have asked for an independent investigation of whether the tests have been made easier.

The state could answer any such doubts by using the same types of test questions year after year. Better yet, Oregon should adopt a standard test. (hh)

n You can reach D-H Editor Hasso Hering at (541) 812-6097. You may listen to Hering's commentary at 6:45 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. most weekdays on KGAL, AM 1580.