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Students reject new tests

Mayfield High School junior Laura Cruz, 18, joined other students on Monday for a student-organized walkout to protest the state exams in Las Cruces. Students frustrated over the new standardized test planned school walkouts across New Mexico to protest the requirement.

ALBUQUERQUE – New assessment tests that have angered parents and teachers across the nation prompted walkouts Monday by hundreds of high school students in New Mexico who had been set to take the exams.

The backlash came as millions of U.S. students started taking the rigorous tests aligned with Common Core standards that outline math and language skills that should be mastered in each grade.

New Mexico is among a dozen states debuting the tests this year.

Opponents say the exams distract from real learning, put added stress on students and staff members and waste resources, especially in poor districts.

Parents and students in Colorado, Pennsylvania and New York have already opted out of the exams. Others are lobbying lawmakers and education officials for change.

In New Mexico, a few hundred students at Albuquerque High School joined the walkout despite warnings from administrators that they could face discipline. About 100 other students at nearby Highland High School also left class as testing began.

The test – called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers – can also be used in teacher evaluations and school grades.

The walkouts and demonstrations in New Mexico began last week in Santa Fe then continued in Carlsbad on Friday.

Students from several Las Cruces schools joined the movement Monday by walking out of classes. Some carried signs that read “More teaching, less testing,” and “Out the door with Common Core.”

The Santa Fe walkouts sparked students at Highland High School to stage their own protest, Highland student Connor Guiney said.

New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera said the exams would provide useful results.

Some opponents would prefer an exam that samples random students to offer a snapshot without such high stakes attached. Others support rating schools through an accreditation process.

Pennsylvania saw 1,064 students statewide opt out of required math tests last year, a tiny percentage of the 803,000 exams given but a nearly fivefold increase from the number who opted out in 2011, according to that state’s Education Department.

In New York, around 5 percent of students – roughly 67,000 – sat out the statewide math test taken by 1.1 million of their peers last year.



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