AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate on Monday unanimously approved its version of a major high school curriculum overhaul, reducing the number of standardized tests students must pass to graduate from a nation-leading 15 to five while allowing some to earn diplomas without taking upper-level math courses such as Algebra II.

The proposal approved in the upper chamber is similar to that passed previously in the House. They come amid a backlash against perceived over-testing by students, parents, teachers and school administrators. Critics worry, however, that Texas is retreating from the kind of tough classroom standards that helped push its students to make academic gains in recent decades.