Students angry over the proposed shuttering of more than 50 schools in Chicago next year skipped the second day of state testing last month to protest the closures, according to local media reports.
The threat of hundreds of high school students boycotting Illinois’ Prairie State Achievement Examination—a test high school juniors must take in order to be promoted to 12th grade and graduate—alarmed Chicago schools officials enough to send letters to parents late last month, reminding them of the exam’s importance.
The boycott was billed by some student activists as a stance against what they say is the overuse of testing for high-stakes decisions such as school closures and teacher and principal evaluations.
About 300 students protested at district headquarters on April 24, according to a press release from a group called Chicago Students Organizing to Save Our Schools.
