From Lisa Demer in Juneau --

Three out of four Alaskans say they support keeping the state's high school exit exam, according to a new poll commissioned by a state lawmaker who authored the original bill in 1997.

There's a push this legislative session to repeal the exam requirement. Senate Bill 109 sponsored by Sen. Bettye Davis, D-Anchorage, has already passed two committees and is now before the Senate Finance Committee.

Under current law, students who otherwise meet all graduation requirements but don't pass the exam get a certificate of attendance instead of a diploma.

Sen. Con Bunde, a Republican from Anchorage who authored the exit exam bill as a House member, told reporters Thursday that the test should remain part of the high school graduation requirements -- passing it is evidence of basic reading, writing and math skills.

Plus, Bunde said the public likes the exam, as evidenced by a Dave Dittman statewide poll that he commissioned with $500 from his legislative office budget.

The poll asked 402 Alaskans around the state whether the state should remove or keep the exam. Of those surveyed, 74 percent said keep it, 24 percent said get rid of it and the rest weren't sure.

"I hope this indicates that the general public would like to maintain it, at least until we come up with a better instrument and not just simply throw out the exit exam," Bunde said.

People in Southeast Alaska were most supportive, with 81 percent wanting to keep it, compared to 71 percent of those in Anchorage, according to the poll. People who weren't registered to vote were more supportive than independent voters. Men liked it slightly more than women.

"It shows that you have passed a standard test to say, yes, I've gained the knowledge to help me in the outside world," said Kari Nore, a senior from North Pole High School who was shadowing state Sen. John Coghill at Thursday's press conference.

Davis, the sponsor of the bill to repeal the test, has argued that it's not fair to use a single exam to deny a student a diploma after 12 years of high school, and that other states are moving away from exit exams.

According to Bunde, 8,008 graduates who passed the exit exam received a diploma last year. Another 270 seniors couldn't pass and got a certificate of attendance.