SANTIAGO, Cuba (AP) — Pope Francis ends his visit to Cuba on Tuesday with a Mass at the country's most revered shrine and a pep talk with families before flying north to Washington for the start of his U.S. tour.
Francis' address to families and symbolically potent flight to the United States underscore two of the big themes of his Cuba pilgrimage — encouraging reconciliation within families and between the U.S. and Cuba. He worked behind the scenes as mediator in 18 months of secret talks on re-establishing diplomatic relations between the two nations.
As state education officials weigh whether to fully embrace a new assessment program reflecting the national Common Core curriculum, preliminary data released Monday shows students taking the new test appeared less likely to hit or exceed grade-level standards.
Advocates for the PARCC exam, offered by some Massachusetts schools this year as part of a two-year trial, said the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's statewide test results support their belief that PARCC is a more accurate measure of a student's capability to succeed in college or a career than the existing MCAS test.
