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NEW YORK, NY January 04, 2006 —A new national report card gives New York an overall grade of B minus for educational quality. WNYC's Beth Fertig has more.

The survey by the publication Education Week examined ten years worth of data since states began raising their standards. New York was a leader in this trend. It was among only 8 states to earn an A for setting clear guidelines. But when it came to other indicators of student achievement, New York earned an overall grade of B minus, compared to the national average of C plus.

The report found the state fared poorly on school sizes AND has no law to enforce specific penalties for student violence. Nor has it closed the achievement gap between white and minority students any more than other states. But a spokesman for the state's Education Department says that's a ten year average. He notes that black and Latino scores actually went up in recent years.