No diploma? No problem.

In an era of strengthened K-12 academic standards and graduation requirements, some education officials are concerned that some students are enrolling in public and private colleges without a high school diploma or equivalent degree, such as a GED.

About 2 percent of college students nationwide were enrolled in colleges without possessing a diploma or equivalent degree in 2003-04, according to a survey by the U.S. Department of Education. That's up from 1.4 percent four years earlier.

About 1 percent of students at four-year colleges, 3 percent at community colleges and 4 percent at private, for-profit colleges fell into that category.

Before receiving federal financial aid, such students must first pass an independently administered, federally approved test to show that they can benefit from college-level work--referred to as an "ability-to-benefit" test.

States have split on the question of whether such students should receive state financial aid. Some, such as New York, provide state tuition grants to students, while others, like California, do not.

Allowing the admission of such students sends the wrong message in light of states' heavy focus on accountability standards and assessments, says Dane Linn, director of the education division of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. Allowing "students who haven't demonstrated that they hold the requisite skills to be successful in college is not only unfair to those who do stick it out and work their way through high school, but it's somewhat contradictory to the policy objectives we see a number of states focusing on," he says.

Given that data show many high school graduates aren't ready for college-level work, "what makes us think that students who don't get a diploma or a GED are ready to do college-level work?" he asks.

John Marinovich, assistant superintendent of secondary education at the Fresno Unified School District in California, says he's not worried about community colleges' accepting such students, but is troubled that four-year colleges and universities would admit them. "It smacks to me of lowering their standards on accepting students to a college or university," he says.

Like many other California districts, Fresno has been advising high school seniors who have not passed the high school exit exam of their options, including attending community college without a diploma or GED, he says. But, he notes, "we go back to discuss with each individual student the importance of goal number one"--earning a diploma.

Nevertheless, community college remains a viable option for some, Marinovich says. "I don't believe that we ever want to say to a student, whether they are 18 years old or older, that now is a dead end, that you shouldn't further your education," he says.