Arne Duncan: 'ideologues and extremists in our parties' killing education reform

Striking a combative tone, President Obama’s top schools official on Monday blamed the “ideologues and extremists in our parties” for standing in the way of education reform.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan called it “political silliness” that some conservatives accused the Obama administration of trying to take over local school districts through a new state-fueled effort to set national learning standards called Common Core. But Duncan equally admonished education reform critics on the left for contributing to the status quo. Though he did not single them out, it included a veiled shot at teachers’ unions, a major Democratic support base that has fought greater emphasis on teacher and school evaluations.