(AP) — A southeast Nebraska woman is joining some other parents across the nation in deciding their children will not take statewide tests.

Jill Osler, of Doniphan, said she thinks the tests are about politics, not about learning.

Valorie Foy is the Nebraska Department of Education director of state assessment, and she says the assessments are a tool to help schools improve.

A growing number of parents in several states are choosing not to have their children take the standardized tests. In New York City, for example, an advocacy group called Change the Stakes estimates that as many as 1,000 students in the city will not take the English test this month.