By Kyle Olson
EAGnews.org

ATHENS, Ga. – Jay Greene, head of the University of Arkansas’ department of education reform, recently told a group that Common Core national standards will fail.

“It’s politically inevitable that efforts will collapse, be hijacked by the establishment or become an empty shell,” Green told the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

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We’ve got an update – it’s already been “hijacked.”

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently gave a defensive speech, going so far as to tell newspaper editors what questions to ask critics of Common Core.

He attempted to smear critics as right-wing kooks, when in reality, people from a broad range of ideologies have serious concerns about the new national standards.

That’s a definite signal that the federal government has a very big stake in the success of Common Core, despite its insistence that it’s only a casual observer.

Greene recognized that fact in his speech, noting the footprint the feds are leaving on the planned curriculum under Common Core.

“…Common Core tells what to teach and how to teach it,” effectively if not literally, he said.

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Greene contends Common Core will fail for practical reasons, too.

“The new (student) assessments will cost a lot more,” the newspaper quoted him as saying.

The Florida Times-Union reported Georgia’s new Common Core-aligned tests could cost as much as $27.5 million.

Greene contends the national standards are “doomed to failure,” but will accomplish their goal of increasing federal control over public schools.