NASHVILLE (AP) - The presidents of Tennessee's 13 community colleges are showing their support for the state's academic standards.

They held a news conference on Wednesday to emphasize the need for the standards to prepare students to get a higher education.

They noted that in the fall of 2014 nearly 70 percent of full-time freshmen in Tennessee's community colleges required learning support in order to perform college-level work.

The presidents are sending a letter to the state's education commissioner expressing their support for the state's school standards, which contain the controversial Common Core state standards for English and math.

Their letter comes a day after most of the state's superintendents sent one to all members of the General Assembly asking them not to change the standards this legislative session.