In protest, parents keep students home during STAAR test days

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Hundreds of local parents are protesting standardized tests by having their children opt out of the STAAR exams.

This year, over 500 parents are choosing to have their kids skip the exams and skip school. Instead they're having their kids attend an "Opt Out Academy."

They are concerned that schools are more concerned with test scores than the quality of education. They also say these standardized tests are unfair to teachers and school administrators.

"Standardized test scores are mostly an indication of socioeconomic status and they're not really a true indication of the kind of work that teachers do in the classroom and the kind of work that principals do in schools," said Claudia DeLeon, the organizer of the opt out movement.

In Texas, if students attend school during STAAR testing, they must take the tests or receive a zero score.