When former Florida Governor and current 2016 Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush speaks, people listen. That is why so many of his remarks this weekend caught conservatives off guard. Bush is visiting Iowa for the first time as a presidential hopeful. He is attending various fundraisers and private meetings with donors and activists. And of course, he is being closely followed by the news media.

Most of his comments were in line with the standard GOP platform:

On foreign policy: “This president is the first president in the World War II era who does not believe that American power is a force for good in the world,” he said.

On his record as Governor: “We took on the trial bar and the teachers’ unions across the board.”

Yet when a question was asked about educational standards, in particular the Common Core, Bush had something original to say: “Raising expectations and having accurate assessments of where kids are is essential for success, and I’m not going to back down on that.”

The Common Core is an optional set of guidelines determined by a bipartisan group of governors. It consists of various goals for reading, writing, and math that ensure students are getting the education they need to succeed in life as well as to be properly prepared for college.

40 states have voluntarily decided to adopt these standards. However, Republicans view the Common Core has a federally mandated curriculum, partly because of their dislike of large government and partly because of Obama’s support of having a country-wide standard for education.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was in favor of the Common Core in 2013 but now that he is in the running for president, he has expressed concerns about their effectiveness.

Similarly Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker supported the Common Core when he first became governor in 2011. In 2014 though, Walker said that the standards were inadequate because they were dictated by people from Washington. Educational standards should be “driven by people in Wisconsin.”

Louisana Governor Bobby Jindal is the most out-spoken opponent of the Common Core among Republican presidential candidates.  He described the standards as a “scheme by the federal government to nationalize curriculum.” He failed, however, to explain why that is a bad thing.

Jeb Bush has not been intimidated into changing his views on education. When questioned by reporters about contradicting conventional party wisdom, Bush replied “I know what I believe. I believe in higher standards that develop critical thinking skills.”

And from that position, he will not be swayed.