Parents Aren't as Afraid of Common Core as Conservatives Are
Despite fake viral test questions and fear of a government take over of education, a slight majority of parents have a positive opinion of Common Core, according to a new Gallup survey. The set of national education standards has come under scrutiny from conservative and libertarian groups for being a once-size-fits-all approach to education and, among other conspiracy theories, teaching kids to hate the Constitution. But this latest poll show shows that a third of public school parents have heard of the standards, and the ones who have are more likely to approve.
On Friday Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight argues that survey data suggests that the majority of Democrats and moderate Republicans believe Common Core with either improve education or not affect it at all. "Even self-described 'strong' Republicans are more likely to think it improves rather than harms educational quality," Silver writes. "And relatively few Americans of any political description have strong feelings against it." At the same time, the Gallup poll does support an argument from critics that Common Core was created without enough input from parents and teachers, which took the public by surprise. Gallup notes that "fewer than four in 10 parents (38%) appear to be knowledgeable about the standards" and "nearly as many — 31% — have heard nothing, while another 30% have heard only a little."
That lack of information is one of the law's biggest hurdles. Silver tries to make the argument that support for Common Core won't hurt more moderate Republicans like Jeb Bush, but the data doesn't address the anti-Common Core narrative. As Parents Aren't as Afraid of Common Core as Conservatives Are - The Wire: