To some extent you're correct. However, I like to deal in reality, and the reality is that the federal government isn't going to leave education to local control as long as they are paying a big part of the freight. CC is an improvement, in the sense that while not a perfect scenario, it does allow more control to be in the hands of the states than was previously present under NCLB. It also provides a curricular outline for tests that dictate funding for schools. Hardly an intelligent scenario when testing is separate from curricula and you are funded based on performance.
Like I said, there are many areas that are in need of work. It is far from perfect, like anything that comes from the government. However, in the current educational paradigm, it is an improvement over what was previously in use. In all reality, it really is a revised iteration of NCLB which was a reaction to conservative pleas for more accountability in education, thus the tying of funding to performance.
