New York City public schools are performing so well according to the DOE's assessment that the performance bonuses earned by teachers is bursting the budget. With 97% of elementary and middle schools earning A's or B's in their annual grades from the Department of Education, yesterday it was revealed that such high marks meant the city would have to shell out $33 million in bonuses, almost twice last year's total despite a slimmer budget and two million over the program's budget before high schools are even accounted for. One education consultant told the News, "It's clear the bonuses are a complete waste, with the reading and math exams becoming easier and easier." more ›

It's official—Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and Mayor Bloomberg have fixed the public schools! Why, how else could 84% of the city's 1,058 elementary and middle schools receive A's on the DOE's annual performance report card, with only 3% winding up with marks of C or below. In fact, all of the schools that received F’s last year and remained open received A’s or B’s this year. Sounding like a teacher who had "accidentally" left the answer key during the final exam and now had to justify the stark improvement from the 61% of schools that got A's and B's when the system began only two years ago, Klein said yesterday, “We want to make clear that that means that they met their progress targets. Not by any stretch of the imagination that those schools don’t have a lot of improvement ahead of them...You can be assured we will raise the bar next year.” The grades schools receive are determined on how much student test results improve in a given year and have been criticized for their heavy reliance on standardized test scores. more ›