HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The state Board of Education has approved tougher graduation requirements for students in Connecticut's public high schools.

Under the plan, the number of specific courses needed to graduate will go from 20 to 25; students will be required to pass standardized tests in several subjects; and each student will be required to have an adviser and individualized plan of study.

The state Department of Education says the proposal, which must be approved by the legislature, is projected to cost state $183.9 million over the next eight years.

The department also estimates that local districts could face millions of dollars in additional costs to hire more staff and build or modify schools.

The plan is scaled back from a proposal submitted a year ago, in part because of financial concerns.

The high school reform effort grew out of concerns that state test scores were not improving and that high school graduates were increasingly unprepared for college and the work force.

The plan requires students to take specific courses and complete a ``capstone'' project before graduating, which could be a portfolio of work, an internship or community service.

The proposal also addresses middle schools, requiring every student to have an adviser between grades 6 and 12, and to have an individualized plan to lay out courses of study and goals over those years.

Students would have to pass a standardized final exam to pass algebra, geometry, biology, advanced English, and U.S. history.

Students who do not pass the exam would have several options, ranging from retaking the exam to taking a community college class in the subject.

Earlier versions of the proposal included a requirement that students take two years of world language before graduating, but that was not included in the latest version.