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Defending the Common Core: The co-chair of the Common Core State Standards Initiative says American students need to be held to higher standards if they’re going to compete with students from, among other places, South Korea. (NPR)

Don’t go there: South Korea’s students may rank high on international tests, but they pay a stiff price. One veteran says the system amounts to child abuse. (NYT)

School-by-school test results: Standardized test scores for individual DC schools show wide variation, with some schools shooting up and others plummeting. (Post)

DCPS-charter collaboration: A partnership with a charter organization has produced promising results at one high-poverty DC elementary school, and the DC Public Schools Chancellor says DCPS is in discussions about how to use the model elsewhere. (WAMU)

Maryland moves away from suspensions: A state work group has issued guidelines designed to reserve suspensions for only the most serious disciplinary infractions. And Montgomery County has already seen a steep drop in high school suspensions. (Post)

Who should write academic standards?: Some states have rejected the Common Core and tried to give state legislators or parents more control over what schools teach. But it’s not clear that’s the best way to formulate academic standards. (Post)

Family engagement: The White House held a symposium on how parents and schools can work together more closely. (Post)