Actually the "core curriculum" is a government program that establishes a set of benchmarks that students must meet during the school year throughout the various grade levels.
In exchange for federal dollars schools have to teach to the curriculum and test accordingly.
Governor Haslam accepted the program in exchange for the money.
The problem with the program is the way student achievement is measured and the way teachers are ordered to teach.
The biggest problem with schools are the free lunch parents who make up a majority. They typically do not support the kids, make them do their homework, or even give a rats ass if the kids make it to school.
You can bitch about the schools and teachers all you want, and I know there are some crappy teachers, but we've reached a point where the majority of parents are more interested in an Obmama phone than getting the kids to class, making sure their homework is done, or sometimes even feeding them.