"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) "Chance Favors the Prepared Mind": Report Finds that Students in the Highest-Achieving States Score As Well As Counterparts in Most Foreign Countries in Math and Science, but Trail Highest-Achieving Foreign Countries; (2) U.S. Reading Results on International Comparison Thrown Out Due to Printing Error: Alliance President Calls for Retest; (3) "High Schools for Equity": Report Offers Lessons from High Schools that Successfully Graduate Low-Income Minority Students; and (4) "When Girls Don't Graduate, We All Fail": New Report Finds that Female Dropouts Face Greater Economic Challenges than Male Counterparts.