Reports from the popular media indicate that the public is demanding a return to the teaching of basic skills, instead of supporting educational innovations which emphasize affective rather than cognitive objectives. Concerned with declining academic achievement at all levels of education and with the inadequate job skills of high school graduates, the public is now questioning preferential college admission and relaxed standards for curriculum, instruction, grading, and student promotion. Various studies have discredited the idea that educational innovations are related to higher achievement. Furthermore, no relationship has been found between academic achievement and per pupil expenditures. The author recommends that educational theorists recognize the public's strong and repeated demand, and that they question their own commitment to the expensive innovative programs which have mushroomed during the last decade or two. More rigorous academic standards may result in fewer academically successful students. However, the author suggests that the low achieving students may find rewarding careers in nonacademic fields. (CP)