SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon will require students to pass standardized state reading, writing and math tests to get a high school diploma.

The first students affected will be next year's freshman class.

Oregon would be the 27th state to require students to prove their abilities on standardized tests to graduate.

The state Board of Education endorsed details of the new requirement today in order to guarantee that every graduate has "essential skills" to succeed in college or a career.

But students who pass all the required courses could be denied diplomas if they can't pass the new tests.

Oregon plans to require students to meet 10th-grade benchmarks on a multiple-choice reading test, a multiple-choice math test and an essay to measure writing skills to earn a diploma starting in 2012.

As of now about one-third of Oregon sophomores fail the reading exam and almost half fail in math.