Democrats in the California Legislature took a giant step backward in education policy on Tuesday. And they did it with no public comment, little debate and no heads-up to the California Department of Education.

The six Democrats on the 10-member budget conference committee voted to eliminate the law that makes the high school exit exam a graduation requirement. And they have the support of Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass of Los Angeles, who has attempted unsuccessfully to eliminate the exit exam requirement in the past.

What is so puzzling is that students would still take the exit exam, but would not need to pass the test in order to get a diploma. This would not save the state much money, but would render diplomas worthless. At a time of budget crisis, sneaking in this pet policy matter totally undermines the Democrats' credibility on budget and education issues.

The exit exam provides a base level of uniform meaning to the diploma. It tells the world whether students can read at the 10th-grade level and do math at the seventh- and eighth-grade level.

This graduation requirement has been doing what it is supposed to do: putting pressure on schools and students to improve performance. It forces schools to improve instruction and to take care that students do not fall through the cracks. And when students fail to pass the exit exam, parents and teachers start paying attention and demanding better results.

Who benefits most from this extra attention? Poor children, including immigrants, who often start school with less preparation and few English language skills.

Before California adopted the exit exam (and other standardized tests), these children were shuffled through the system with no objective measurement of what they were learning. Now they and their parents know where they stand, and everyone knows how well each school is teaching them. That's why polls show the test is overwhelmingly popular with Latino parents.

Democrats say it is unfair to keep the exit exam when education budget cuts will make it harder for teachers to help students meet this standard. But that rationale sends a terrible message to students, parents and teachers. It tells them that in times of budget crisis, it is OK for kids to graduate if they can't do 10th-grade reading or seventh- and eighth-grade math. And that California should only have academic standards during good times.

This new generation of legislative Democrats needs education champions – like they once had in Gary K. Hart, Jack O'Connell and Dede Alpert – who understand the importance of student academic standards, and the testing and accountability system based on them. As Hart has said, the exit exam graduation requirement focuses attention "where it should be – on academic achievement, not just getting by."

Fortunately, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made the exit exam a priority issue. In final negotiations with the Legislature on a budget, he will have to insist that this policy matter be taken out.

Californians should not allow the state's worsened budget situation to be used as an excuse to go back to the days of giving a diploma to students who can't read and do basic math. That would be a disservice to everybody, but especially to the kids themselves.