But it wouldn’t be the Obama administration unless it injected race into the debate. In 2013, Duncan famously said that it was “fascinating” that Common Core opposition came from “white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — [realize] their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were.” He later apologized — blaming “clumsy phrasing” — but since that time he’s learned to make the same point, just more subtly…

Got the message, selfish parents? You’re hurting the “civil rights community.” You’re harming “students of color.” No one is immune from racial demagoguery when it can even be turned on parents in politically correct, diversity-obsessed communities like Manhattan and Park Slope. New York is of course one of America’s bluest states, and Duncan has thus been reduced to attacking key members of the administration’s own political base to contain the opt-outs and preserve Common Core.

The federal government is flexing its muscles to protect an allegedly state-run program. Liberals are treating other liberals like they’re racist. Even the teachers’ unions are calling Common Core’s rollout “botched” and walking back their “once-enthusiastic” support for the program. It looks like the education technocracy is every bit as ineffective as the rest of our national technocracies.