The push for a national curriculum is gaining momentum as reformers press states to acknowledge "world class" benchmarks for student achievement. The topic had been dormant since Clinton-era efforts to promote "voluntary national standards" yielded little more than charges of political correctness. With No Child Left Behind now stirring concerns about disparate state assessments and sometimes incoherent state standards, has the time come for the new president and Congress to press forward on a national curriculum? Chester E. Finn Jr., "Education Next" senior editor and longtime champion of standards-based reform, says unequivocally "Yes!" and lays out his vision of what it should look like and how it should work. Deborah Meier, founder of New York City's Central Park East Schools and author of "The Power of Their Ideas: Lessons for America from a Small School in Harlem," is equally vehement in arguing "No!" while providing her own set of strategies for improving the nation's schools. In this article, Finn and Meier face off over the merits of a national curriculum. Finn advocates a voluntary system. Meier questions the likelihood of gaining consensus on the curriculum's content and prefers a democratic school structure. (Contains 1 figure.)