"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) Another Positive Step for ESEA Reauthorization: Testifying Before Congress, Duncan Calls for Reauthorization in 2010,…

Article described an attempt to make state assessment into a useful tool for improving educational practice. (Author/RK)

Progress of Oregon's State Prekindergarten Program (SPP) during its first 3 months of program operation is reported. Serving mostly low-income, 3- and 4-year-old children, the SPP offers health, nutrition, education, and social services to children and their families. Parent involvement and education are important program components. This progress…

California state officials vary in their perceptions of the functions and uses of state Department of Education evaluations, according to state legislators, legislative staff members, department administrators, and outside evaluators whose opinions were gathered through interviews and at a 1981 symposium. Highlighted here are the legislators'…

The process used to develop a five-year and annual Illinois state plan for sex equity in vocational education programs is described and analyzed. The appropriateness of theory and frameworks used to develop the plan are examined as well as the five-phase operational framework which emerged from the developmental process: expectations and…