The Common Core does not advance democratic education. Far from it, the opening section of the language standards argues that the goal of public K-12 education is "college and career readiness." Only at the end of their introductory section do the Common Core's authors suggest that K-12 education has any goals beyond the economic: learning to read and write well has "wide applicability outside the classroom and work place," including preparing people for "private deliberation and responsible citizenship in a republic." The democratic purposes of K-12 education are not goals but, in the Common Core's words, a "natural outgrowth" of work force preparation. [For "The Common Core and Democratic Education: Examining Potential Costs and Benefits to Public and Private Autonomy," see EJ1120097.]