(1) The General Assembly finds that students who take the recommended Smart Core courses or students who take additional courses after completing the Smart Core continue to perform better on the ACT Assessment than students who take less than the recommended core.
(2) The recommended core courses according to ACT Assessment officials include: Four (4) years or more of English;
(3) Three (3) years or more of mathematics;
(4) Three (3) years or more of social studies; and
(5) Three (3) years or more of natural sciences.