"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House Subcommittee Passes Education Funding Bill: Appropriations Bill Would Provide Large Increases for Title I and Pell Grants, but No Increase for Striving Readers; (2) "Answering the Question that Matters Most": New Report Finds Higher Scores on Reading and Math Tests Since Enactment of NCLB; (3) "Mapping 2005 State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP Scales:" New Research Report Compares NAEP and State Proficiency Standards; and (4) "A Possible Dream": New Report Examines Teacher Shortfall in California, Concludes that a Lack of Support, Not Low Pay, Drives Teachers from Classrooms. (Contains 1 figure.)