"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) "Who's Counted? Who's Counting?": New Alliance Report Examines Graduation Rate Reporting, Addresses Public Confusion, Presents Policy Solutions; (2) Improving Literacy in Middle and High Schools: Taking the Alabama Reading Initiative to the Next Level; (3) "Public Education and Black Male Students": Report Finds Large Graduation Gaps Between White and Black Male Students; (4) "Keeping Our Edge": U.S. High Schools Don't Prepare Students to Compete Internationally, Say Most Americans; and (5) New Grant Program Open to College Students Who Complete a Rigorous High School Curriculum. (Contains 1 footnote.)