Two researchers at the Pioneer Institute in Boston think so. They explain how Connecticut fell behind in reading in their Wall Street Journal op-ed questioning the wisdom of the Common Core.

This academic-lite approach has been tried before—and it failed. In 1998, Connecticut had higher reading scores than Massachusetts. But just as the Bay State was pursuing clearly articulated academic goals, Connecticut chose a curriculum that put soft skills (such as cultural competence and global awareness) on a par with academic content. By 2005, Connecticut was one of seven states that had outsized drops in reading scores, falling by nearly 10 points in seven years.