By: JENNIFER KABBANY - Staff Writer

TEMECULA ---- The state's top education official told a group of more than 100 officials from the region's school districts Thursday that they must persevere through statewide budget woes and the rigor of the state's standardized testing mandates.

At a time when high-stakes testing in public schools is creating more and more pressure for school districts and their students to perform well, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell told the officials that they "must not shy away from accountability."

"We do our children no favors by simply passing them along," he said, referring to why he supports the California High School Exit Exam, which students must pass to earn a diploma. "The goal of the high school exit exam is to really challenge the system and raise expectations."

O'Connell's remarks were made at the Temecula Creek Inn, where 100 human resource office workers from school districts in Riverside and San Bernardino counties are meeting for a three-day conference that ends today.

The officials have been undergoing training, talking about new state and federal laws that affect school districts, sharing experiences and offering each other advice.

O'Connell's speech was the keynote address of the evening.

Part of his talk focused on how the state has a "challenging, diverse student population," referring to the state's high percentage of students still learning English, students from poor families, and special education students.

"We have an achievement gap that we need to close ---- our economy depends on it," he said about those three groups of students, who tend to lag behind their peers when it comes to performing well on standardized tests. "We have high expectations for all our students."

He said the exit exam, as well as several other statewide tests given to students each year, are an important part of the state's educational system. Yet, while he stressed student achievement, he also noted that "not every student is going to college."

"You might be surprised to hear a state superintendent say that," he said. "We need to prepare students to be more analytical; prepare students for jobs we don't know might exist."

O'Connell also took the opportunity to bemoan what he contends is the state's lack of funding for public education and his grave concerns about the upcoming November election.

"We're eighth from the bottom in per-pupil spending," he said. "We have the worst counselor-to-student ratio in the country and nearly the largest class sizes in the country."

Threatening to make matters worse, he said, is Proposition 76, which will be decided by voters in the November election. It would establish a state spending cap and give the governor more control over the budget.

"It leaves us in the basement for funding," he said of the measure, if passed.

Recently, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said the ballot measure is intended to stabilize state finances and end deficit spending, and has warned that if the measure fails to pass, state lawmakers would likely raid local treasuries for funds to close the state's persistent budget gap.

Contact staff writer Jennifer Kabbany at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2625, or jkabbany@californian.com.

Copyright 2005 -- NCTimes.com