By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 26, 1997; Page A09

With his major education initiative stalled in the statehouses, President Clinton yesterday lashed out at the nation's governors for "dragging their feet" on improving school standards and began bypassing them by signing up some of the largest cities for his new testing program.

Clinton's vision of a nationwide series of tests in reading and math to improve achievement in an increasingly global marketplace depends largely on the cooperation of officials outside Washington. Because any federally mandated tests would be political dynamite, Clinton has tried to persuade state leaders to voluntarily adopt his testing regimen.

However, more than six months after he first issued his challenge in his State of the Union address, Clinton has enlisted only six states for the cause and few other states have been clamoring to join.

During a speech to a group of elementary school principals in Arlington yesterday, Clinton sounded somewhat frustrated by the response and suggested he may vent a little when he travels to Las Vegas Monday to address a meeting of the National Governors' Association.

"If this event had gone on in 1979 or 1980 or 1983 or 1984, the governors would have been the first group out there," Clinton told the principals, who cheered him on with boisterous applause and standing ovations. "They've been dragging their feet. And don't you believe for a moment that [Education Secretary] Dick Riley and I aren't going to tell them what we saw at the elementary school principals convention."

In a strategy that to some extent circumvents the reluctance in state capitals, Clinton announced that 15 of the nation's largest cities have agreed to use the tests once they are developed.

Among those endorsing the Clinton plan were New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia. Washington was not among the recruits.

Combined with Defense Department schools and the half-dozen states already on board (including Maryland and West Virginia), the cities bring the total number of elementary students affected by the Clinton plan to 8.6 million, or nearly one of every five, according to the White House.

"It means after the test is given all of them will get better education, because we'll all learn from the test results and keep working until we get the results we want in every one of those districts," Clinton said.

Under his plan, tests developed under the leadership of the Education Department would measure fourth-graders in reading and eighth-graders in math beginning in 1999.

Recently released tests of sample students showed younger U.S. children excelling compared with their international peers, while older pupils lagged behind.

Critics have branded the president's program a barely veiled attempt to insert the federal government into what traditionally has been a local prerogative, the running of schools.

A number of state leaders have said they already have upgraded their standards and adopted new tests, making the national effort redundant, not to mention pricey because states would be expected to pick up most of the cost.

"We already have plenty of testing," said Rep. Frank Riggs (R-Calif.), a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "A lot of the states are already doing their own thing and they worry about federal intervention. It is all well and good to say these are voluntary tests, but . . . what's voluntary today can be mandatory tomorrow."

Clinton aides tried to depict the resistance as inertia and fear, and predicted the plan will build momentum, noting that another state or two will announce support soon.

"There's a lot of local opposition because people naturally don't want to say our schools didn't make the cut, didn't make the grade," said White House press secretary Michael McCurry. "Our argument is it's better to know that, so you can begin to better train to measure up to the standards."