"This is the huge fulcrum moment for many of the reforms," said Rick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank. "It's a lot messier than some might have thought."
If a significant number of suburban, middle-class parents start pushing back, Mr. Hess said, "the whole reform agenda could blow a gasket."
Randi Weingarten, head of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation's second largest teachers union, predicted more turmoil as many states plan to roll out tougher standardized exams in 2015. Already, she said, the country has a "dispirited and demoralized teaching force at the very moment you need them to be at the top of their game."
Labels: common core, VAM