"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 Prevails in Cutting Education Below Senate Bill and the President's Request: Final FY2005 Education Budget Fails to Make Promised Investments in Education Improvement; (2) Secretary Paige Steps Down: White House Adviser Margaret Spellings Appointed New U.S. Secretary of Education; (3) Education Ballot Initiatives See Mixed Results Across the Country: Creative Funding Options See Support, Tax Increases Rejected; (4) New Report Finds Higher Math Scores Might Not Represent Gains in Student Ability; and (5) New Report Finds High Attrition Rates Among Texas High Schools: Two Million Students Failed to Graduate Between 1985 and 2004.