Conservatives Evenly Split on Common Core

This from Wall Street Journal:

Opponents of Common Core, a new set of national academic standards, are pressuring Republican candidates and warning of a mounting conservative revolt.

WSJ/NBC poll graphics.

But in fact, conservatives are evenly split over the standards, with 45% supportive and 46% opposed, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. Even among Republicans who describe themselves as tea party supporters, opposition to Common Core rose only as high as 53%.

As controversial as the standards have become in some quarters – three Republican-led states have dropped Common Core in recent months — nearly half of adults, 47%, have never heard of it. That may leave room for both supporters and opponents a chance to shape public opinion.

The benchmarks were created by a bi-partisan group of governors and educators seeking to raise student achievement and draw state-by-state comparisons. But the Obama administration’s disbursal of federal education grants to states that adopted Common Core set off alarms among conservative activists wary of federal incursion into local schools.

The standards were described in the poll without reference to the federal government’s role. Overall, 59% said they strongly or somewhat supported the standards, while 31% said they strongly or somewhat opposed.

Support was highest among African-Americans (80%), Hispanics (76%) and liberals (75%).