Be primarily of …significance; be worse off;

　　Finally, it seems to me that imposing¹ a uniform national curriculum would serve to undermine the authority of parents over their own children, to even a greater extent than uniform state laws currently do. Admittedly, laws requiring parents to ensure that their children receive an education that meets certain minimum standards are well-justified, for the reasons mentioned earlier. However, when such standards are imposed by the state rather than at the community level parents are left with far less power to participate meaningfully in the decision-making process. This problem would only be exacerbated² were these decisions left exclusively to federal regulators.注意最后一句的倒装结构。

　　In the final analysis, homogenization of elementary and secondary education would amount to a double-edged sword. While it would serve as an insurance policy against a future populated with illiterates³ and ignoramuses, at the same time it might serve to obliterate⁴ cultural diversity and tradition. The optimal⁵ federal approach, in my view, is a balanced one that imposes a basic curriculum yet leaves the rest up to each state——or better yet, to each community.

　　Optimal approach, impose … yet…, leave … up to sb.由谁负责