American RadioWorks documentary: The Common Core

Students lunches
students
Nate Ryan / MPR News File

There's plenty of controversy surrounding the Common Core, a new set of education standards adopted by most states.

Getting less attention is what the standards actually say, and the fact that many teachers like them.

A new documentary from American RadioWorks, "Greater Expectations: The Challenge of the Common Core," takes listeners into classrooms to explore how the standards are changing teaching and learning.

Many teachers say those changes are desperately needed, but some are worried about new Common Core tests and whether they will help improve schools or get in the way of better education.