"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) Last Cut Is the Deepest: Final FY 2011 Spending Agreement Cuts Spending by Nearly $40 Billion, Includes More Cuts for Education Programs; (2) Every Student Counts: Senator Harkin and Representative Scott Introduce Legislation to Establish Common Formula for High School Graduation Rates and Set 90 Percent Graduation Rate Goal; (3) High School Transcript Study: Study of 2009 High School Graduates Reveals Importance of a Rigorous Curriculum to Future Success; (4) Alliance to Hold Webinar on the 2009 High School Transcript Study; (5) State Test Score Trends: New Report Finds Eighth-Grade Students Making Steady Progress on Math and Reading State Tests; and (6) "Double Jeopardy": New Report Examines the Impact that Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Have on High School Graduation Rates. (Contains 1 footnote.)