Common Core Loses Support Nationwide

Most Americans familiar with the Common Core standards tend to oppose them and, within just one year, polls show more Americans are, in fact, more knowledgeable about the controversial education initiative and against its implementation in schools.

A new Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup (PDK/Gallup) poll released this week finds that only 19 percent of Americans know “nothing at all” about the Common Core standards and that 60 percent oppose teachers using the standards to guide what they teach.

The poll, a survey of more than 1,000 Americans 18 years and older, found that Republicans appear to be most educated about the Common Core standards, with 54 percent stating they know either “a great deal” or “a fair amount” about the initiative, compared to 40 percent of Democrats, and 46 percent of Independents.

Of those identifying as Republicans, 76 percent said they oppose teachers’ use of the Common Core standards, compared to 38 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Independents.

“Given the increased media coverage this year, we were not surprised that an overwhelming majority of Americans have heard about the Common Core State Standards, but we were surprised by the level of opposition,” William Bushaw, co-director of the poll and CEO of PDK International, an association for educators, said on Tuesday, according to Education Week. “Supporters of the standards, and education in particular, face a growing challenge in explaining why they believe the standards are best in practice.”

Results of the PDK/Gallup poll also showed that President Obama received an “A” or “B” grade for his performance regarding public schools from only 27 percent of respondents, while the same percentage gave him a grade of “F.” This outcome represents Obama’s poorest performance overall since his election to the presidency.

The poll is the latest of similar surveys that have revealed – just prior to the midterm elections – that support for the Common Core standards is in significant decline across the nation. As Breitbart News reported Wednesday, Education Next released a poll of 5,000 adults this week that found only 53 percent of respondents were supportive of the Common Core standards this year, as opposed to 65 percent last year. In addition, only 46 percent of teachers were found to be supportive of the nationalized standards this year, compared to 76 percent in 2013.