WASHINGTON (AP) — Critics are relentless in warning about what they see as the folly of the new Common Core academic standards, designed to prepare students for college or a job by the time they graduate from high school.

The standards are being implemented in 45 states and the District of Columbia, but critics say they were written in private and never tested in real classrooms, and that educators aren’t familiar enough with the standards to use them. The standards also come with a multi-billion dollar price tag.

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