"Washington will be forced either to allow the states great leeway in how they implement NCLB or to make NCLB more detailed, prescriptive and top-heavy. If Washington chooses the former, the statute might as well not exist; if the latter, federal policymakers will increasingly resemble Soviet central planners trying to improve economic performance by micromanaging decisions from Moscow."

But beyond the failures of centralized control, Uzzell makes an eloquent argument for the need to bring decisions about education as close to parents as possible. "Education," he writes, "is inherently personal and inherently value laden." You cannot run a school without eventually having to make decisions about "truth and virtue," the very concepts that strike at the heart of the culture wars.

What do we want our children to value? Who should be their heroes from history? What types of literature should be most prized?

Uzzell believes it is impossible to reach a consensus on these things in 21st century America, let alone set a national standard for them. "That is why we keep the state out of controlling churches, just as we keep it out of other value-forming institutions such as publishing and journalism," he writes.

The ultimate answer, he believes, is to turn education over to parents — the governing unit farthest from Washington. Give them choice by using vouchers or tax credits to let them decide which school and which curriculum is best for their child. Give them the kind of choice the president wants for workers who pay into Social Security.

Except, of course, that in Utah lawmakers continue to refuse to take that step. But that could be fodder for an entirely different essay.

If nothing else, Uzzell's arguments shed light on why the No Child law is drawing criticism from both the school establishment — which is concerned about the standards — and the critics of the establishment, who want to dissolve the centralization of education.

It also may explain why the left now seems so anxious to embrace the No Child law and to keep it from being dismantled.

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Jay Evensen is editor of the Deseret Morning News editorial page. E-mail: even@desnews.com