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The city's graduation rates continue to rise, according to the state education department. Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein announced that for each of the past five years, the rate has risen and now stands at 59 percent. Bravo to the mayor and the chancellor - they've each made a huge commitment to education that is clearly paying off.

The 4-year graduation rate for students who entered high school in 2005 was to 59 percent, according to data released today by State Education Commissioner David Steiner. That's 3 percentage points higher than the graduation rate of 56 percent last year for students who started ninth grade in 2004. Another 3.7 percent of students graduated last summer, just after their fourth year of high school. And the city's 5-year graduation rate rose 3 points as well, to 66 percent.

The overall state graduation rate ticked upward by one percentage point, to 72 percent. Steiner noted that the pace of growth statewide has slowed from last year.