UPDATE: Nearly 1,100 Las Cruces students protest PARCC exam

The PARCC movement has united thousands of students across the state of New Mexico. In Las Cruces, the Las Cruces Public Schools district estimates approximately 1,100 students walked out of scheduled testing.

The district reports at least 420 high school students walked out and there were more middle school students than high school students protesting–at least two hundred more.

“It really did come down to making sure that we as a district communicated that there could be long-standing repercussions for the high school students with their requirements for graduation,” Tim Hand, Director of Assessment, Analysis and Research for LCPS, said.

Parents of those who walked out will be getting something in the mail very soon.

“We’ve sent postcards to each of the families, letting them know makeups are available,” Hand said.

Some parents Monday questioned the district’s role in state testing, but it was the Public Education Department that implemented new common core standards in 2010, causing the change from the Standards Based Assessment to the PARCC. The district says it’s doing what the law requires.

“That’s kind of the position we have to take as a district, is the amount of leverage we have making change is minimal,” Hand said.
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District officials tell Abc-7 consequences differ between students, depending on the level of demonstration. LCPS told Abc-7 Monday, most middle school students faced in-school suspension. The walkout was considered an unexcused absence for high school students.

Makeups must be done by March 20th, otherwise a student will essentially have forfeited one of their three attempts at the exam.