| Educational initiatives to improve US achievement outcomes come and go, with the outcomes still languishing.
The opposition to the Bush era No Child Left Behind, calling it teaching to a test, was wide-spread, mostly among Democrats, and has since been disbanded.
Now the federal government's new educational program Common Core is widely opposed by Republicans, saying it is a government take-over of education.
Poll Finds Majority Oppose Common Core
By Samuel Speciale, Education Reporter
Charleston Daily Mail
A new Gallup poll, released Wednesday, has found that 60 percent of Americans oppose the Common Core Standards adopted by more than 40 state boards of education.
Those who oppose Common Core said they believe the standards limit the flexibility of teachers to teach what they think is best. On the other hand, proponents, who make up 33 percent of those polled, said the standards will help more students learn regardless of where they go to school.
Opposition was much higher among Republicans than Democrats, the poll found.
The standards have been criticized by Republican politicians in recent months for being unconstitutional and an attempt to nationalize the public education system, a belief that has led the Ohio House of Representatives to recently schedule hearings to consider joining four other states that have withdrawn from Common Core.
Those concerns are outlined in the poll data, which found that 56 percent of Americans believe local school boards should have the greatest influence on what is taught in school. Additionally, support for federal involvement has decreased from 20 percent in 2007 to 15 percent in 2014.
As opposition of the standards has increased, so has awareness. Last year, 62 percent said they had never heard of Common Core. This year, the poll found that 81 percent had heard "at least a little bit" and that nearly half had heard a great deal or fair amount.
While the standards are uniform in what they require students to know upon graduation, states still have control over curriculum.
The standards were adopted by the state Board of Education in 2010, but the Department of Education created its own content standards that are more closely tailored to its students. The standards, called Next Generation Standards, still align with Common Core, department spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro said ...
Read the rest Poll finds majority oppose Common Core By Samuel Speciale, Education Reporter, for the Charleston Daily Mail
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