Pennsylvania public schools are less than nine months away from a mandate to implement common core standards but a poll of 600 Pennsylvania voters shows only 20 percent of people know what they are.
 
The common core standards come out of a voluntary national movement to align the learning requirements at every grade level across the states. The standards are expected to ensure students leave high school ready for college or the workplace, and are hailed by businesses as a way to make the country more globally competitive.
 
The poll, commissioned by the Pennsylvania Business Council Education Foundation and conducted by The Tarrance Group, a national polling firm, found once the common core standards were explained to voters, 67 percent supported the concept.
 
The poll also found that less than a third of voters graded their public school as excellent and above-average. And almost half believe their public schools have gotten worse over the past decade.