It should come as no surprise that when Minnesota raises the bar on tests that high school students must pass to graduate, some kids don't get a diploma.

But five years after the state made the transition to the more challenging reading, writing and math tests known as Graduation Required Assessments for Diploma, the state now faces its own tough test as the class of 2010 becomes the first required to pass GRAD for graduation.

Faced with dismal passing rates on the GRAD math test, the state has already blinked once: Legislators granted a reprieve last year (signed by the governor) on the math requirement. With more than 8,000 seniors still needing to pass the reading and writing requirements before the end of the school year, legislators will likely soon face pressure from angry parents and worried educators for another reprieve.

They shouldn't blink again. The point of putting the GRAD system in place was to make students individually accountable for their learning -- unlike other programs that hold only teachers and schools accountable -- and to ensure that a diploma from a Minnesota high school means something in an increasingly knowledge-based world, that those holding it are ready for the workplace or postsecondary education. These are still worthy goals, though not without risk. Kids denied a diploma may drop out and never complete their education.

Unlike with the GRAD math tests, there isn't widespread consensus that the reading and writing tests are too rigorous. The percentages of students who've passed them bear that out. Statewide, 87 percent of seniors have passed the reading test, and 97 percent have passed the writing test. In contrast, only 57 percent of 11th-grade students had passed the GRAD math test before the reprieve was granted in 2009.

There's still time before the end of the year for seniors who haven't passed the reading and writing tests to take them again -- they can typically do so every six weeks. Some educators estimate that by the time "Pomp and Circumstance" begins playing in auditoriums across the state, about 91 or 92 percent of Minnesota seniors will have passed the reading test. (Exemptions are made for students with disabilities or limited English skills.)

A reprieve would be a step backward and would send the wrong message about accountability to students, families and educators. At the same time, the discussion about Minnesota requirements for graduating seniors needs to continue, and it needs to be far more wide-ranging than the reprieve issue. Legislators and education officials also should be asking this question: Are there better ways to assess student readiness for college or work?

The Legislature, when it passed the math GRAD reprieve, smartly created a task force to study this issue. The group included public school superintendents, college administrators, legislators, college professors, education policy experts and a representative of the Minnesota Business Partnership. The group evaluated accountability systems across the nation to determine best practices.

Their report came out March 1 with sensible suggestions for improvement. Among the key recommendations: providing students with multiple ways to meet graduation requirements, as well as administering tests at the end of coursework in a topic and including the results in the student's final grade. Reports from other states indicate that this may be a better measurement of readiness, and it may help improve instruction, the classroom curriculum and student motivation.

Another key recommendation: correlating test data with student success after high school to help determine a "cut score," the score below which a student fails a test.

Legislators should stand firm on the GRAD reading and writing requirements. At the same time, improvements to the current system, as well as more help and alternatives for kids currently unable to pass these tests, should be a priority during this crowded session.