Budget Cuts, Not Standards, Are Top Concern for Parents
August 21, 2013 RSS Feed Print
School funding is the primary concern of public school parents, according to new Gallup poll.
The Common Core State Standards are taking a beating. Several states are trying to backtrack on the curriculum guidelines and New York schools made headlines earlier this month when scores plummeted during the first round of testing tied to the standards.
Despite attention from media and lawmakers, 62 percent of Americans – and 55 percent of public school parents – have never heard of the Common Core standards, according to a Gallup poll released today. The standards aim to set a consistent benchmark across all states, and emphasize 21st century skills such as critical thinking, collaboration and problem solving.
"There's still a lot of people out there that don't know much about the Common Core," says Von Sheppard, assistant superintendent at Boulder Valley School District in Colorado.
[Discover why most states aren't ready for Common Core standards.]
Parents who think they're up on the standards don't actually know much, though. Of those who have heard of the Common Core standards, nearly 40 percent either agree or strongly agree that the "federal government insists all states adopt the standards." Almost 50 percent agree or