"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) Deficit Committee's Failure Triggers Automatic Spending Cuts: Education Programs Could Face $3.5 Billion in Cuts; (2)…

The General Educational Development (GED[R]) Tests, established in 1945, helped determine soldiers' high school qualifications for the workforce, as they returned home from WWII. Because many soldiers dropped out of school to join the military, achieving a certain score on the test was a way for them to demonstrate that they had attained high…

The "National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program" is a residential education and training program designed for youth ages 16 to 18 who have dropped out of or been expelled from high school. During the 22-week residential period, participants are offered GED preparation classes and other program services intended to promote positive youth…

The study examined whether participating in the "National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program", a quasi-military residential/mentoring program for dropouts, improved the educational and other outcomes of at-risk youth. The study analyzed data on about 1,000 16- to 18-year-old high school dropouts enrolled in 10 ChalleNGe programs throughout…