"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) Congress Comes to Agreement on Budget Resolution: Budget Blueprint Outlines Large Funding Increase for Education Programs; (2) "Rigor at Risk": ACT Finds that Core High School Curriculum Lacks Rigor, Leads to Unprepared High School Graduates; and (3) Students At All Levels Show Improvement in History and Civics: Even With Improvement, Large Percentages of Students Continue to Perform Below Grade Level. (Contains 3 footnotes.)