1.   Board member Janet Nicholas, who was largely responsible for overseeing the half-dozen rewrites of the math standards, bristles at the notion that the proposal is extreme.

2.   A fifth of the children in exclusive suburbs like Rye, Mamaroneck and Great Neck failed to meet the eighth-grade math standard.

3.   However, Gore said the administration remains committed to establishing national reading standards for all U.S. fourth graders and national math standards for eighth graders.

4.   In the last two years the board has deadlocked along conservative-moderate lines over state tests, math standards and some federal programs.

5.   Indeed, in March, the board unanimously approved the compromise math standards.

6.   It also got high marks for its math standards.

7.   Politicians blamed a popular educational approach at the time that generally ignored basic phonics, grammar lessons and strong math standards.

8.   The attempt to establish math standards has been no less contentious.

9.   Under the proposed math standard, for example, high school graduates would be required to take algebra, trigonometry and pre-calculus.

10.   Book publishers Wednesday defended their work, blaming the demand driven by the math standards set by states.