HARTFORD (AP) — To Education Commissioner Betty Sternberg, standardized testing is just like her decision to lose weight.

Years ago, she went on a diet and lost 72 pounds. But it wasn’t climbing on the scale every day that did it, it was the diet itself.

“What got me to lose weight was to eat less and move more,” Dr Sternberg said.

To improve student performance, Dr Sternberg wants to offer a better educational diet to the state’s students. Instead of spending money on adding more tests to measure results, she wants to take action by spending money on preschool and programming.

The state has been testing students in fourth, sixth, and eighth grades for years with the Connecticut Mastery Tests. To meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Law, the state will have to add students in grades three, five, and seven to the testing list next year. Science tests come later, in 2007.

Dr Sternberg said she is concerned because she believes the additional tests are just going to tell the state what it has known for years: that poor and minority students are lagging behind. And she is worried about the effects of the additional testing and how it will change day-to-day lessons in the classroom.

“I am concerned that especially when we start to test every single grade, that it will tip the balance in a way that will hurt education in Connecticut,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday.

Dr Sternberg says the new tests will cost the state millions that could be better spent on programming that will help close the achievement gap. But the federal government isn’t budging, and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has said that tests are a linchpin of school accountability. The department has denied the state’s request to test only every other year.

“The whole point of assessing students regularly is to catch problems early so they can be fixed before it’s too late,” Spellings, who recently took over the nation’s top education post, wrote in an op-ed column. “Every year builds on what was learned before. Therefore, we cannot exempt a single class or grade level.”

Data released Monday from the 2004 Connecticut Mastery Tests for grades four, six, and eight did not hold good news for the state. Compared to last year, performance declined slightly in every single grade in reading, writing and math.

In grade four, 78.9 percent of students met the federal standard of “proficient” in math, 66.8 met it in reading, and 81.4 met it in writing. For sixth graders, 80.3 were proficient in math, 72.5 met the bar in reading and 82.5 met it in writing. In grade eight, 75.7 were proficient in reading, 75.2 in reading and 80.4 in writing.

But Dr Sternberg says that when state officials look over the past five years at how the state is performing under the law, it is difficult to get an accurate picture. Because of the law’s requirements, participation of special education students and non-English speaking students has increased substantially since 2000, changing the population of students that has been taking the test.

The law also requires states to compare grades year to year, instead of tracking the same group of students over time. Lawmakers and educators say that is like comparing apples and oranges. Though Connecticut has asked the federal government for flexibility in all three areas, their requests have not been granted.

The state plans to continue fighting, however. Last week, the state Senate passed a resolution asking Congress to exempt states with a strong track record on standardized testing, the SATs, and a national exam.

“What they’re doing makes no sense whatsoever,” said Sen Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, who leads the legislature’s Education Committee.

Dr Sternberg said Monday that she plans to ask the federal government again this week to test every other year, and track students over time. Federal officials have said they are willing to listen to proposals on tracking the same group of students, and on changing how special education students are tested.

“Quite frankly, I’m not going to give up,” Dr Sternberg said.

Detailed town-by-town results for the Connecticut Mastery Tests from the state Department of Education are available at www.cmtreports.com