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Common Core standards are a set of educational benchmarks to provide a consistent framework to prepare students for college and work. Opponents say it's too much interference by the federal government, while proponents say it's a way to improve education.

This week, we had more reponses to our questions on Common Core standards than ever before, with over 1,000 of our readers and insiders letting us know what they think. Results and selected anonymous comments after the jump.

Some anonymous comments:

"The work may not have been done as collaboratively as supporters say, but the claim of the Ruzickistas that the curriculum is subliminal messaging for the U.N. black helicopters is ridiculous."

"As an opponent, I think it's also ridiculous to think we actually have control before common core. When a school gets fined 20k for serving pop during lunch, I think control went out the window a long time ago."

"The earth is no longer perceived as flat except for some folks in Utah, with the epicenter in Utah County."

"Common core is a rigorous and justified set of standards that states developed to increase accountability. However, the program has been hijacked by attempts to institutionalize it into the US Dept of Education and make Race to the Top funding contingent on states participating in common core."

"The problem with the Common Core issue is the consortium that Utah has joined requires by 2014 that the member states be compliant with agreed upon tests and standards. We can use best practices and use the Common Core standards but that decision should rest solely with our elected State school Board and with input from their constituents."

"Both supporters of Common Core and opponents have some things right. There are concerns, but the sky isn't falling."

"The ability to conjugate a verb, among many other benign skills is something political leaders should practice properly and require of students, regardless of who attaches carrots or sticks to the framework of evaluation."

"The opponents have no substantive evidence of their claims. They are conspiracy theorists who operate on the fringes of the Republican party. They are throwing up unnecessary stumbling blocks to programs that are already being successfully implemented."

"Two of my kids graduated from HS in California and were well prepared for college by virtue of a college prep track. My youngest is graduating this year from a Utah HS and has had to make extraordinary efforts to be competitive for the same school as the siblings."

"This is an example of the far-right playing on ignorance, fear, and loathing of the federal government to score a few points. It's a completely bogus argument, and the simple truth is that Common Core is a set of stronger standards than Utah has had. Backing away from it now is to accept mediocrity."

"Common Core standards were developed by socialists one-worlders at the United Nations as part of a plot to indoctrinate American children into being secular humanists who like abortion, gay marriage, and fluoridated water."

"As usual, the crazies are crazy."

"Local control is always the best way to educate our children. Federal standard/regulations always come with strings attached that harm districts."

"Gayle (Ruzicka) and her little minions are constantly yelling "fire" on anything they don't like and don't understand. Hey, folks.....get over it and let the experts run it!"

"Some do not want to face the fact that Utah's high school graduation standards lag, rather than lead, the rest of the country. The State Board of Education should be praised for taking this small step to raise the bar."

"The standards were derived collaboratively. They are now being taken over by Arne Duncan, Barack Obama, and the U.S. Department of Education, using our tax money to bribe us into compliance."

"The Federal Government always takes over, they always use the carrot approach first, to solve a real problem then they impose federal requirements which leads to bigger problems."

Some anonymous comments:

"We need educated people, young and old alike. A common core allows us to maintain our diversity by sharing a common core of educational experiences."

"Utah should be able to adopt the Common Core Standards, with state amendments. Keeping what is good from the standards and changing what isn't or improving on the standards."

"Let's face it; while Utah is OK in education, we're not great. Anything that can be done to improve it can only be good for our kids and our state!"

"I think therefore I am supporting Common Core standards."

"Heaven forbid there is a standard level of competency at each grade level that is comprehensive across the nation."

"They are better than the previously state imposed, one size fits all requirements."

"The standards themselves are excellent. Whether they will remain that way under the ministrations of the feds is another question."

Some anonymous comments:

"Anytime they can go after the federal government, real or imagined, they will. We'll see them build towards this during the interim days and there will be at least one, but likely multiple bills during the session that have Utah opt-out of the Common Core standards."

"If it makes sense, and is beneficial to children, the Utah County leadership in the GOP Legislature will do their best to make it illegal. This doesn't have a chance, since it's based in education and not a fundamental, medieval inspired push toward widespread ignorance."

"The lemmings are looking for the flat world and believe with their divinely inspired legislative leadership they can defy geography and physics, and make the world flat again."

"They will modify the effects of using (or not using) the standards, but they will not argue about what trigonometric formula should be mastered by the junior year of high school."

"If our under-educated legislature passes a changed or modified version of the Common Core Standards and they are signed by a college dropout Governor, what would be the value?"

"Who knows what these bozo's will do?"

"I hope we don't have that fight again."

"If the Republican delegates were still the red-meat zealots of a few years ago, the Legislature would forbid the use of Common Core. But hopefully, with more moderate delegates, legislators will be more reasonable. After all, the delegates are their real constituents."

"The legislature should stay out of this issue. They don't like the federal government sticking it's nose into the state's business. We have an elected state school board. Let them deal with the issue. It's not a legislative issue."

"Just like you don't want federal regulations being imposed on a local level, neither do you want the state to do it as well. If school districts want to implement those standards, and the parents in that district allow it, then that is the way it should be."

"If the legislature actually educates itself on the issue as opposed to adhering to the fear mongering from the Eagle Forum, I think they will realize that standards aren't just for religions!"

"With so many black helicopters circling, it's hard to tell what the legislature will do. It will be after the election, so it should be safe to re-assert accurate information and principled thought. But one thing we do know is the Utah Legislature will defy separation of powers and continue to be the largest school board in the nation."

"Are you asking what SHOULD the legislature do, or what they WILL do? Those are two different questions."

"None of the above. The Legislature will let the School Board stand by its decision to adopt and implement the Common Core."

"The Legislature has not been shy about micromanaging school curriculum recently. I expect pressure from the the right will show up in legislation that tweaks the common core. I hope that it doesn't put Utah so far out of line that we will not be able to meet the requirements with the teaching materials being created around the core."

Respondents include - 

Fred Adams, Stuart Adams, Jess Agraz, Scott Anderson, Laura Arellano, Patrice Arent, Neil Ashdown, Bruce Baird, Tom Barberi, Heather Barney, Steve Barth, Jeff Bell, Tom Berggren, Mike Bertelsen, Ron Bigelow, Emily Bingham-Hollingshead, Rob Bishop, Laura Black, Charles Bradley, Jim Bradley, Ralph Brown, Ken Bullock, Chris Bleak, Curt Bramble, Joel Briscoe, Ralph Brown, Aaron Browning, Dave Buhler, Ken Bullock, Ric Cantrell, Maura Carabello, Marty Carpenter, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Kay Christensen, David Clark, Kim Coleman, Peter Corroon, Tim Cosgrove, Fred Cox, Lew Cramer, Gene Davis, Richard Davis, Brad Daw, Alan Dayton, Margaret Dayton, Mike Deaver, Brad, Dee, Joseph Demma, Jake Dennis, Jeff Dixon, Brian Doughty, Carl Downing, Randy Dryer, Susan Duckworth, Donald Dunn, Becky Edwards, Scott Ericson, Jessica Fawson, Janice Fisher, Wendy Fisher, Lorie Fowlke, Ronald Fox, Adam Gardiner, Jordan Garn, Luke Garrott, Dave Gessel, Natalie Gochnour, Robert Grow, Karen Hale, David Hansen, Neil Hansen, Joe Hatch, Jeff Hartley, Dan Hauser, Lynn Hemmingway, Deidre Henderson, Neal Hendrickson, Casey Hill, Lyle Hillyard, Kory Holdaway, Randy Horiuchi, Ben Horsley, Bruce Hough, Scott Howell, Greg Hughes, Miriam Hyde, Allison Isom, Casey Jackson, Eric Jergensen, Mike Jerman, Jonathan Johnson, Michael Jolley, Gordon Jones, Leslie Jones, Pat Jones, Kirk Jowers, Jeremy Keele, Brian King, Scott Konopasek, Steve Kroes, Chris Kyler, Carter Livingston, Fred Lampropoulos, Clark Larsen, Douglas Larson, David Litvack, Larry Lunt, Matt Lyon, Ben McAdams, Daniel McCay, Gayle McKeachnie, JT Martin, Maryann Martindale, Jason Mathis, Karen Mayne, Bret Milburn, Derek Miller, Rob Miller, Ethan Millard, Brett Millburn, Karen Morgan, Mike Mower, Holly Mullen, Wayne Niederhauser, Mike Noel, Randy O'Hara, Ralph Okerlund, James Olsen, Val Oveson, Kelly Patterson, John Pearce, Frank Pignanelli, Becky Pirente, Marie Poulson, Jason Powers, Joe Pyrah, Mike Reberg, Jill Remington Love, Lauren Richards, Holly Richardson, Robin Riggs, James Roberts, Luz Robles, Ross Romero, Don Savage, Bryan Schott, Jay Seegmiller, Jennifer Seelig, Patrick Shea, Randy Shumway, Soren Simonsen, Jeremy Slaughter, Brendan Smith, Brian Somers, Carol Spackman-Moss, Robert Spendlove, Howard Stephenson, David Stringfellow, Mike Styler, Juliette Tennert, Gary Thorup, Kevin Van Tassell, Royce Van Tassel, Michael Waddoups, Chuck Warren, Christine Watkins, LaVarr Webb, Todd Weiler, Alan West, Mark Wheatley, Larry Wiley, Ted Wilson, Carl Wimmer, Mike Winder, Travis Wood, Thomas Wright

Results from the UtahPolicy.com/KSL Insider poll can be heard on KSL Radio every Friday and read on Utah Policy.com every Monday.