DES MOINES - A pilot study showed a surprising share of graduates from Iowa's teaching colleges did not score high enough on national standardized tests to meet requirements set by other states, a finding that disappointed some state education officials.

The results of the study were presented to members of a legislative panel Wednesday and sparked debate among lawmakers about whether the state should make college graduates undergo testing before they are granted teaching licenses.

Iowa is the only state that doesn't require new teachers to pass a test before getting their licenses.

But a University of Northern Iowa official said Iowa does use a test as part of a multiple assessment approach.

"Iowa does have better assessments," said Barry Wilson, director of assessment for UNI's College of Education. "This is a standardized test. If you want to find out how good a teacher is, see if they can teach. Our current Iowa standards are focused on multiple assessments, not a single pencil-and-paper test. States that use that as a high-stakes test are simply doing themselves a disservice. Iowa does it right."

More than 5,300 teacher candidates from Iowa took part in the pilot study by completing the tests during the 2001-02 to 2003-04 school years. The candidates completed tests on basic teaching skills, with some taking "content" tests that measured knowledge of a particular subject area, such as physics or world and U.S. history.

Ann Kruse, executive director of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, said board members hadn't expected Iowa's new teachers to score as poorly as they did.

"Overall, the test results are not necessarily bad, but they are not impressive," Kruse said.

Collectively, Iowa students did well in areas such as biology, chemistry, earth science and health, but overall, the results showed "just average scores," Kruse said.

She said some of those tested did not even meet the requirements of other Midwestern states.

For example, 21.6 percent of Iowa graduates did not meet Ohio standards to obtain a teaching license, although all of them would be eligible for Iowa licenses.

Wilson isn't putting much stock in those numbers.

"Our kids who took the test, took it in a very different context," Wilson said. "In our case it was a trial run. The students didn't pay for the test and nothing was riding on the results. There was no incentive to do well. In earlier trials in Iowa, where the tests were voluntary for the students, our students were off the charts. The reason for that is they were taking it to teach in states that required the test, so they obviously had the incentive to do well. Saying that 21.6 percent wouldn't meet those standards is just not accurate."

Wilson said UNI students begin field experiences as early as their sophomore year and are evaluated at each point in the classroom experience through their senior year.

"Those evaluations are reported back to the student so they know exactly what we expect of them," Wilson said. "So they can teach in a way students can learn. You don't get that with a pencil-and-paper test."

Rep. Greg Stevens, D-Milford, who teaches English at Okoboji High School, said Iowa shouldn't start testing new teachers simply because other states do.

He said no research exists that teachers who pass tests perform well in the classroom.

Rep. Roger Wendt, a Sioux City Democrat and former school administrator, is not convinced the state needs to test teachers.

"It's a matter of trust," Wendt said.

Sen. Mike Connolly, D-Dubuque, said the idea that Iowa teachers don't know enough about the subjects they teach is "absurd."

"I think this is just more and more meaningless testing," he said.

Staff Writer Terry Hudson contributed to this article.