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NEW YORK, NY March 10, 2005 —Public schools in New York City are improving, though not all at the same rate. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

The state looked at how many schools were meeting their annual performance targets during the 2003-2004 academic year.

Eighty more schools than the previous year met their targets in English and one hundred and five more schools met their goals in Math. These gains are important because 345 city schools are considered in need of improvement, putting them at risk of federal funds. Those that continue to meet their targets could get taken off that list.

Meanwhile, elementary schools had the highest rate of annual progress - with more than 80% meeting performance targets. But the percentage of high schools and middle schools meeting their targets is considerably lower.

The state Board of Regents is recommending a greater focus on middle and high school reforms. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig.