Montezuma County schools report that a large number of parents have opted their children out of the new state PARCC test, which has faced opposition from parents and school officials statewide.

Fifteen percent of students at Cortez Middle School have opted out of the online test, 14 percent at Dolores Middle School and 25 percent at Dolores High School, the school districts said.

Mancos students take the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam (PARCC) next week.

Parents have opted out 89 students at CMS, which can be done with a letter to the principal. Last year, only two CMS students opted out of testing, said Cortez Middle School Principal Jamie Haukeness.

“This is a high percentage, as we currently have 575 students enrolled in the building,” said Haukeness.

In New Mexico, hundreds of high school students walked out of schools last week to protest the PARCC test. New Mexico and Colorado are among a dozen states taking the tests this year.

Haukeness said few problems have been reported with the testing.

“Our testing began on Monday, March 2, and we started with the 21st Century program students first, then students in the eighth grade, seventh grade, and will complete the testing with our sixth-grade (March 12),” said Haukeness.

The exams take up to 80 minutes, and most students have finished in time, said Haukeness.

“Some of the students like taking the assessments with computers, and some who aren’t as proficient with the use of the machines have a more difficult time with the testing,” he said. “We are fortunate to have few technology problems when compared to other schools. This is due to the fact that we have over 200 Chromebook laptop computers, and our school has the Internet capacity to handle them.”

Students at the small Children’s Kiva Montessori charter school started taking the PARCC March 3.

“The Kiva Staff prepared a healthy breakfast for the students on our first day to relieve any anxiety,” said executive director Josh Warinner.

“We encouraged the students to do their best and not worry too much about the assessment,” he said. Overall, all of our students have come away from the assessment saying that they felt it was ‘a lot better than TCAP’ because they had fewer questions per section and were able to ‘take our time and explain our answers deeper,just like we do in our class.’”

Four families opted out at Kiva by writing a letter to the school, Warinner said.

“As far as technology goes, we purchased a class set of 25 Google Chromebooks for our school, and we have had zero technology problems with them,” he said.

Dolores Elementary students are expected to start taking the test March 17. Principal Sherri Maxwell said only two students have opted out.

“I also tell parents who are thinking about opting out to at least let their children try one section before they make that decision,” she said.

She also asked parents who opted out to keep their children home during testing.

Other elementary schools across the county only reported a handful of students opting out, such as Manaugh Elementary in Cortez. Principal Donetta Dehart said only one person opted out.

But still, some principals say the length and number of tests are getting too much for some.

“People are fed up with the overabundance of testing,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said they have worked on practice tests and taught their children test-taking strategies, such as moving past problems they can’t answer.

“The nice thing about the PARCC, at the end, it gives you a summary and tells the student if they skipped questions,” Maxwell said.

She also said her students were doing well with the online testing.

“Our kids are digital natives and react well to digital platforms. I was just in a second-grade classroom, and the teacher’s alarm on her phone kept going off. She couldn’t get it to stop, so she handed it to one of her students, who turned it off for her.”

Students at the Mancos School District are expected to take the test starting March 23.

Superintendent Brian Hanson said Mancos has had a few opt-outs.

In a letter he sent home to parents, Hanson stated that the district was required to give the tests. The district is currently seeking a waiver from the tests for next year.

At the end of the letter, he gave his opinion of the test, saying that as a parent, he’d opt out.

“On a personal note, I must say that for 17 years as a school administrator, I have always stated to parents the importance of these tests and how critical it was for them to have their child take them. I simply can’t do that anymore and must be honest and tell you that as a parent myself, if my own children were of the age to be required to take these tests, I would opt them out. As a parent, it is your right and responsibility to make the decision you feel is in the best interest of your child with regards to state assessments. Please make the decision carefully and with great thought,” the letter stated.

The Associated Press Contributed to this story.