Students Boycott Standardized Test
Nearly 200 eighth-graders boycotted a state science exam with their parents’ blessing in this well-to-do community of doctors, corporate executives and other high achievers.
The school district in Scarsdale, a New York City suburb, said 195 of its 290 eighth-graders skipped the test to protest standardized exams and the increasing amount of classroom time spent preparing for them.
The students in one of the nation’s top-ranked school districts will not face any punishment, though they will likely be offered another chance to take the exam.
The boycott is part of a nationwide movement against the tests. There have been boycotts in Michigan and Massachusetts. Critics say test preparation is interfering with the curriculum and costing students in-depth instruction in broader subjects.
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