WASHINGTON, D.C. – It was bad enough when the Obama administration quietly snuck Common Core into our states with little or no legislative or public debate.

A quiet approval from state boards of education, with little press coverage or public awareness, was all that was necessary to implement the new national math and English standards.

Now, a few years down the road, we’ll see if the president and his education advisors have the nerve to completely ignore public opinion on the matter.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

The newly released PDK-Gallup poll, which most experts agree is an accurate measure of public opinion on education issues, shows that only 40 percent of the general public (and only 38 percent of public school parents) support Common Core academic standards, according to the Washington Post.

And only 15 percent of respondents said they believe the federal government should determine what students learn in school, a clear rebuke of Common Core. Nearly 60 percent said curriculum decisions should be made by local school boards.

Obama is not off line with the public on every issue. He has been a consistent supporter of charter school expansion, and 70 percent of poll respondents said they support charter schools.

But overall, only 27 percent of respondents gave the president’s education agenda a letter grade of A or B. That means when it comes to education, Obama is mediocre at best in the minds of the public.

The poll also shows a definite gulf between public opinion and educator opinion. While the majority of Americans are clearly suspicious of Common Core, an ASCD SmartBrief poll, in which most of the respondents were teachers or other school employees, showed 80 percent support for Common Core.

The president and the education elites want one thing – a top-down education system imposed and controlled by Washington, D.C. – while the people clearly want another.

MORE NEWS: How to prepare for face-to-face classes

So here’s the real question: Given that the people pay for schools and the education of millions of children, how much weight does their opinion of Common Core carry?

Will Obama and the education elite listen to the people who pay the bills and adjust their policies, or continue to force feed Americans a program they clearly do not want?