40 percent of Americans disapprove of Common Core standards

Almost half of Americans disapprove of the Common Core standards

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published 19 February 2015

A new poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind found that only 17 percent of Americans favor the Common Core standards, though there are a number of misconceptions about what the standards actually are.

The poll surveyed 964 people by phone and found that 40 percent of Americans disapprove of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), while 42 percent are "unsure." The goal of the CCSS, the poll notes, is to "establish national standards for learning so that all students, regardless of where they live, leave high school with the skills necessary to enter college or the labor force."

One common misconception about the standards is that sex education is part of the CCSS, which it isn't: 44 percent of those polled believed that sex education is a part of the standards. Other respondents objected to the Common Core because they thought it required teaching on topics including global warming, evolution, and the American Revolution, when none are actually a part of the standards, which only cover math and reading. Meanwhile, 52 percent of Americans say they've heard "just a little" or "nothing at all" about what the standards entail.