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Tennessee committee approves bill to refocus high-school testing toward ACT/SAT, sends it to Gov Ops
Summary
The House Education Committee approved House Bill 675 on a 15-3 vote after adding a subcommittee amendment. The bill would shift high-school end-of-course exam emphasis toward nationally recognized college-admissions tests (ACT or SAT) and allow alternatives for some career/technical students.
House Bill 675, a measure that would refocus high-school end-of-course (EOC) testing toward nationally recognized college-admissions exams, passed the full House Education Committee and will move to the Government Operations committee.
Leader Cochran, sponsor of House Bill 675, told the committee the bill aims to “refocus[] the exams and the accountability portion in our high schools to ACT, which is the national standard,” and that the measure would allow the ACT or SAT and related technical assessments such as ACT WorkKeys to count in place of some current EOCs. Cochran said the bill also would require alternative pathways for technical students who lack viable options for courses such as Algebra II.
Committee members agreed to add a subcommittee amendment (6055) before the vote. Chairman Haston, speaking in support, said the bill is not “against data” but meant to concentrate accountability on “the right kind of data,” noting the ACT connects to postsecondary opportunities and scholarships.
After debate and amendment, the committee called the question and the clerk reported the result: 15 ayes, 3 nays. The committee recorded the bill as moving to Government Operations.
The bill sponsor and committee members said the measure grew from multi‑party discussions—including work by subcommittee chairs—and is intended to preserve accountability while aligning high‑school assessments with national college‑admissions measures. The subcommittee amendment was described as non‑controversial at the full‑committee level and incorporated before the final vote.
Votes at committee were procedural on the amendment and passage; specific floor amendments or details about how K–12 accountability formulas would change were not finalized in the committee discussion and will be addressed in later committees, the sponsor said.
The bill now goes to the Government Operations committee for further consideration.
