NPR News

Since 2001, the black beret has been the official headgear for the Army Combat Uniform. At the time, the Army chose the beret because it said it represented excellence in some of its specialty units. In its 2001 announcement, the Army said it was extending the use of the beret to whole Army as a symbol of a force in the midst of transforming itself into a more nimble military institution.

Maybe it's cynical of us political observers or just an acknowledgement of election-cycle reality.

But perhaps the best prism through which understand President Obama's Puerto Rico visit Tuesday is the electoral college.

Using that filter, his trip is his attempt to make sure Florida's growing Puerto Rican population in his corner next year.

The good news: "At all grades, the average U.S. history scores in 2010 were higher than the scores in 1994, and the score for eighth-graders was also higher than in 2006."

The bad news: "Less than one-quarter of students perform at or above the 'proficient' level in 2010."

That's the word this morning from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, part of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.

As the immigrant population continues growing and federal lawmakers fail to pass immigration reform, state legislators are taking matters into their own hands. Alabama Republican Governor Robert Bentley signed a tough bill last week. One of its four components criminalizes a person to be in the state without proper documentation. Host Michel Martin looks at that law with The Montgomery Advertiser state reporter Brian Lyman. Latino Decisions pollster Matt Barreto also shares how immigration reform may affect the 2012 election.

Molly Worthen is writing a book about modern American evangelicals.