Poll Finds Voters Oppose Removing Algebra II as a Graduation Requirement and Reductions in Required Exams

Stock image of students graduating (Photo by Unsplash)

Last summer and fall, Tennessee lawmakers held a series of meetings to discuss potential changes to a range of education issues.

Three discussions that attracted particular interest included whether Tennessee should retain Algebra II as a graduation requirement, if adjustments are needed to the end-of-course assessments (EOC) taken by high school students, and whether the frequency of teacher evaluations should be reduced.

The Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education heard from experts who warned that removing Algebra II as a graduation requirement could put Tennessee students at a competitive disadvantage in gaining admission to college, as the subject is required by many four-year institutions. Organizations like SCORE also testified about the valuable role EOCs play in measuring whether students have mastered required subjects and the importance of annual teacher evaluations.

Poll Finds Support for Strong Standards

A new poll of 500 voters by education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success found that most don’t want changes to Algebra II or EOCs. Of those surveyed, nearly 67 percent oppose removing Algebra II as a graduation requirement, compared to just 24 percent who supported it.

Even more voters oppose reducing testing and evaluations. Among those surveyed, more than 77 percent opposed removing EOC exams in subjects such as U.S. History and Biology, as well as annual teacher evaluation requirements. Just over 13 percent supported these reductions.

The Tennessee Firefly is a project of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.

Recommendations Delayed to June

The polling could provide additional information for the Advisory Committee on Innovations in K-12 Education to consider before making recommendations to lawmakers. Its The committee was initially scheduled to provide recommendations before the start of this year’s legislative session, but members were unable to meet to finalize them.

The House K-12 Subcommittee advanced legislation today to extend the committee’s reporting deadline to June 1. State Senators approved that chamber’s version of the bill earlier this month.

Senator Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro, explained in a Senate Committee earlier this year that the size of the committee’s report played a role in the need for extra time.

“It was a little more than we thought it would be when we agreed to do the summer study, which was worth it because a lot of wonderful topics and discussion came out of the summer study,” said White.