A more rigorous math test that Minnesota high-schoolers must pass to graduate has worried school officials and lawmakers for years.

But now it’s getting serious.

This past spring, only one-third of Minnesota juniors scored at or above proficiency on the state’s MCA-II math test. And because the graduation test is embedded into the MCA-II, it appears two-thirds of graduating students in 2010 may be ineligible for diplomas.

Facing the prospect of abysmal graduation rates and widespread failure, the state Senate Education Committee held a hearing Monday in St. Paul to gather testimony from top education officials as well as parents and teachers.

“We’ve set high standards,” said Charles Wiger, DFL-Maplewood, who chairs the committee. “And now we’re facing a reality check.”

The new test is part of the state’s Graduation Required Assessments for Diploma program that replaces the Basic Skills Tests. The class of 2010 is the first to graduate under the new program, which includes a writing test in ninth grade, reading test in 10th and the math test in 11th.

But students who fail the math test have only one year to pass.

Further complicating the matter is the fact that school districts will not receive results from the graduation test until almost July, making it very difficult to identify the students who need help.

Wiger said no discussion of “abandoning standards” occurred during Monday’s hearing. But he did say there was a handful of solutions that could be introduced in the next legislative session. As a result of the hearing, Wiger said, a bipartisan task force will begin meeting mid-month to formulate some recommendations.

“It was clear to everyone we have to do something,” Wiger said. “The hearing took a very serious tone.”

At least for now, there are few options for schools but to try and meet the standard.

In New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, fully 50 percent of students met the math standard last spring — easily the highest mark in the area. But Supt. Kevin Wellen said there was no secret to his district’s success beyond quality staff and plenty of advanced courses.

In St. Peter, the School Board took action three years ago to require its students to take four years of math in high school — one of only a handful of districts in the state to adopt such a policy. High school Principal Paul Peterson said higher math proficiency is a “commendable” goal. But, he said, graduation shouldn’t ever be dependent on one snapshot of a student’s ability.

“The math test is only one single assessment,” Peterson said. “And I’ve never seen any research that suggests one score from one test can be a full indicator of a student.”