all political stripes, including long-standing Tories - are hoping their grassroots movement will bring about a groundswell of support. The full-page ad reads, in part: ``Large classes. Fewer special education classes. Reduced library staff. Fewer arts programs . . . Does this sound like your school?'''' The first one appears in today''s Star. The funding formula is not meeting needs of kids in Toronto, or anywhere,'''' said Joanne Pauli, speaking on behalf of the newly formed Friends of Public She has three children, one at North Toronto Collegiate. Most of the parents have some connection to the collegiate; the idea for the ad campaign came out of a parent council meeting. The one-size-fits-all formula isn''t really fitting anyone at all,'''' Pauli said. In 1998, the provincial government seized control of education spending, taking away individual boards'' ability to raise their own taxes depending on their needs. It now spends $13.4 billion a year.

currently so strong that it may well leave a number of listeners wondering why such an obviously needed and beneficial reform wasn''t undertaken a long time ago. But the fact is that the effort to establish educational standards has always been an uphill fight in this country. In light of these circumstances, it is useful to examine why Americans have so vigorously resisted educational standards over the years. The history of such resistance suggests that there are three factors in particular that have made standards such a hard sell: a commitment to local control of schools, a commitment to expansion of educational opportunity, and a commitment to form over substance in the way we think about educational accomplishment. All three of these factors, which I treat below, can be traced in large part to our preference for one particular purpose of education:

welcome to the internets premier listing for all your educational needs. Containing over 15,000 links to some of the best educational resources on the Internet, The Library in science the sky guides teachers, students, parents,librarians, and members of the community on their journeys through cyberspace. the library was visited over 900,000 times in 1999, and we anticipate well over 1 million visitors in 2000! the matter of setting standards for american education is certainly quite visible these days, but much of what we hear about it is not very enlightening. the talk is frequently filled with ideological heat rather than with critical light, and the tone of the discussion is more often nostalgic than realistic. in addition, the pitch in favor of standards is

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