"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) "The Nation's Report Card": Too Many High School Seniors Unprepared for College-Level Math and Reading; (2) "Degrees of Separation": New Report Finds Better-Educated Individuals--and Cities--Were Less Impacted by the Great Recession; (3) "Winning by Degrees": New Report Examines How to Improve College Degree Attainment Rates at U.S. Higher Education Institutions; and (4) "Texas Public School Attrition Study": Attrition Rate in Texas Falls Below 30 Percent for the First Time in Twenty-Five-Year History of Study. (Contains 1 footnote.)