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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Several dozen students protested at the State Capitol on Friday and more plan to walk out of their schools next week as frustration brews over new standardized tests in New Mexico.
Students from Santa Fe schools rallied outside before heading to Gov. Susana Martinez's office to share their concerns about taking new, more rigorous exams aligned with Common Core standards. They were told to write their concerns on a pad of paper.
Starting Monday, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, tests will be administered in schools around the state.
As the students protested, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate sounded off on a resolution that suggested "high-stakes testing" has created for some educators a negative atmosphere and has done little to boost learning. The resolution passed on a party-line vote in the chamber, which has a Democratic majority.
During a separate Senate committee meeting, lawmakers debated a bill sponsored by Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Albuquerque, to hold off on implementing the Common Core standards. "Common Core's intent may have been good. But the way it has been utilized and is being used throughout our country, I think, is detrimental to what the intent may have been," Lopez said.
Her bill requires the state Public Education Department to withdraw from PARCC and return to the standardized tests used previously by the state. Students simply aren't prepared for the new tests, Lopez said.
The bill was temporarily tabled because it sought money for public meetings to be held around the state.
Education officials say meetings have already been held, more than $2 million has been spent and thousands of educators trained statewide to support implementation of the Common Core.
Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, said he doesn't support doing away with the standards but that a discussion needs to be had.
"We need to focus on the caliber of students," he said. "We do not have gas station attendant jobs today, we have highly technical jobs. ... We need a school system in tune with our economy and our society."
Some lawmakers also voiced concerns about growing confusion over whether students have the right to opt out of taking the tests. They said some parents are being told their children could be removed from athletic teams if they don't take the test, while others mentioned disenrollment.
Backlash appears to be growing across the U.S. this spring as millions of students start taking new exams aligned with the Common Core standards. Parents, students and teachers are rebelling against what they consider a toxic culture of testing.
New Mexico first signed on to the standards during Democrat Gov. Bill Richardson's administration. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is now in her second term, and Lopez contends a full understanding of what the standards constitute is only now coming about.
There's no sign from Martinez's administration that the education department will back down from continuing with the tests. The department is requesting $6 million during this legislative session to pay for the tests.
Sen. Craig Brandt, R-Rio Rancho, said the standards have become a political issue. While he doesn't know if Common Core is the "silver bullet," he wanted to know how long it will take to implement the standards.
"When is enough time enough?" he asked. "Give me a number? Do we need 20 years to implement?"
Two other bills winding through the New Mexico Legislature would give parents the ability to request a waiver for their children to opt out of the college and career-readiness assessments.
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