Common core standards now dictate testing of public school kids in several subjects in North Carolina. The English tests, in particular, are drawing the scrutiny of the John Locke Foundation’s Terry Stoops, director of research and education studies. Stoops explains that the tests fail to adequately address grammar, spelling, mechanics, and usage, and he recommends changes. Stoops also highlights his broader concerns with the Common Core standards. Next is a look at national interest in North Carolina’s push for tax reform. Recently, Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist visited Raleigh. Norquist, known for urging politicians to sign a pledge agreeing never to support tax increases, praises leaders in both the N.C. House and Senate for moving toward reforms that would lower tax rates. Turning to education policy, as North Carolina’s high school graduation rate has increased, so has the rate of required remediation for newly enrolled students in the state’s community colleges. During a recent public presentation, the John Locke Foundation’s Terry Stoops discussed how community colleges plan to address the growing number of students requiring remedial classes in basic subject areas. That’s followed by an interesting look at entrepreneurship. They often get a bad rap as people out to make a buck, regardless of the consequences. But Felix Livingston, professor of economics at Flagler College, promotes the concept of “honorable entrepreneurship.” During a recent speech at Campbell University, Livingston highlighted how most entrepreneurs provide products and services designed to improve people’s lives. And finally, as North Carolina embarks on a plan proposed by Gov. Pat McCrory to reform the state’s Medicaid program, John Locke Foundation health policy analyst Katherine Restrepo explains consumer-driven Medicaid reform. Restrepo critiques the governor’s ideas and talks about the need to infuse the delivery of services to the poor with competition and accountability for dollars spent.