A backlash is growing in some Roman Catholic schools as they struggle to find a balance between the Common Core learning standards and faith-based teachings. The Washington Post reports that The Diocese of Albany recently announced that they will be scaling back Common-core testing, while sticking to the benchmark standards. The Common Core benchmark standards break down which skills students should master and at which grade level, from kindergarten through high school.

The number of schools that have opted out of the testing or the standards altogether has not been officially tracked, since states began phasing them in five years ago. Surveys estimate that about half of the 195 dioceses adopted the standards. Catholic schools, like other private schools, are not obligated to use the standards in their curriculum.

Just under 2 million students in the U.S attend one of the 6,588 Catholic schools in the country, with the majority being elementary school students. Despite their private status, the schools have not been immune to the criticisms surrounding Common Core and its high-stakes testing measures.

Sister John Mary Fleming, executive director for education at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops says, “What this situation has done is created an opportunity for Catholic schools to review our mission: What is our mission and how does the curriculum support that mission?”

The conference urges those in charge of education to look over the standards but cautions that doing away with them completely may put students at a disadvantage in the future, especially in the case of students that later go on to public schooling.

Of the 46 states that originally implemented Common Core standards, three completely dropped them. According to the Education Commission of the States, 22 of those 46 states have sought alternative ways to meet benchmark requirements.