A representative of Associated Oregon Industries, which has pressed for school change, says many students may find it difficult to meet the new standards.

And, federal laws prohibit some workplace experiences assumed to be effective methods for achieving proficiency in CAM endorsement areas, the organization adds.

Julie Brandis, AOI's legislative representative in Salem, says that 60 percent to 70 percent of Oregon students will likely fail initial CIM tests, which will create a huge public affairs problem for Oregon government.

"Imagine that 70 percent of the students in Corvallis, a city that prides itself on its schools, don't pass the first CIM," Brandis says. "Kids who have been glorious students are suddenly failing, and fingers start pointing."

Brandis worries that should high initial failure rates occur, and she thinks they will, parents "will rise up and blame the districts for poor teaching, or demand repeal of the (school transformation) act."

That's AOI's first and most immediate concern. But a second one -- involving standards for the CAM -- looms.

Brandis says that student internships at businesses are part of the plan for implementing CAM standards. The problem is that federal law -- the Fair Labor Standards Act -- requires companies to pay for any work done that benefits the company.

Most companies will be reluctant to get involved with internships if it means they must pay students, Brandis says.

A second federal law prohibits anyone under age 18 from working around moving machinery.

That law will keep some students off factory floors and away from construction sites and similar places, where they might otherwise have gained exactly the real-world experiences CAM calls for, Brandis says.

Apparently it was assumed by proponents of the act that the federal government "would turn its eye," Brandis says, but already there's been a complaint that has drawn scrutiny from the feds, she says.

For now, the AOI is urging a large public affairs campaign to prepare Oregon citizens for startling CIM test results, Brandis says.