Of the 320 high schools in Massachusetts, 94 require students to take four years of math.
Students starting their freshman year in high school in September will be required to take four years of math if they plan to attend a state college or university after graduation.
The state Board of Higher Education voted Tuesday to require any Massachusetts high school student to take algebra I and II, geometry or trigonometry and a fourth course chosen by the student by 2016.
The decision is tied to the Department of Higher Education’s Vision Project that is focused on increasing the graduation rates of college students, aligning degrees with business needs and boosting the rate of high school graduates who attend college.
The change is designed in part to reduce the number of students who have to pay to take non-credit remediation courses in college, Higher Education Commissioner Richard M. Freeland said in a recent interview.
The decision fits with the recommended curriculum adopted by the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in 2007. But it is up to school committees to set local graduation requirements, according to officials at the state Department of Higher Education.
Of the 320 high schools in the state, 94 require students to take four years of math, while the majority call for three years of the subject. Some of the Western Massachusetts high schools that require four years of math are Granby Senior, Franklin County Technical, Palmer, Sabis International Charter, Gateway Regional and West Springfield, officials said.
The Springfield School Committee voted in 2009 to require four years of high school math under the pupil progression plan, said Azell M. Cavaan, spokeswoman for Superintendent Alan M. Ingram.
Some superintendents have mixed feelings about the requirement.
Chicopee Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said he is not against the proposal, but worries it may limit students’ ability to take other classes they need or find interesting.
“There is a financial realism that will make it very, very difficult,” Rege said. “I hope it will not place schools once again in a position where they have to chop art and music to free up the money we need.”
Already a lot of students take four years of math because they are preparing for a career in a field where they need it. Those who score in needs improvement in the MCAS are required to do so. Rege said the math proposal and a proposed requirement of three years of a laboratory science could be difficult to meet for students in a vocational program who spend half their day in career technical classes.
Guidance counselors recommend seniors take math and other difficult courses their senior year because studies show taking classes with rigor makes it easier for them to transition to college, Rege said.
Holyoke Superintendent David L. Dupont questioned if the four-year requirement was necessary for students who are not interested in a field involving math, especially when it could mean they have to sacrifice other classes.
“We may be cutting their opportunities in social studies and art and music, and that bothers me,” Dupont said.
Some school systems have difficulties recruiting qualified math teachers, and this requirement could make it harder. It can also hurt schools that are struggling financially, Dupont said.
At Minnechaug Regional High School, most students take four years of math, so the school offers classes such as financial algebra and statistics, said Donna M. Scanlon, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.
“Math is generally considered the gateways for opportunities and options for careers,” she said.