Bloomberg Says Thompson Is Wrong on City's Schools

Mayor Bloomberg is firing back at Comptroller William Thompson Jr. for questioning whether the city's schools have made any major improvements in recent years.

"It's pretty hard to argue with the graduation rates up 20%, math scores up 20%, English scores up," Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday. "I know Bill Thompson. I can't believe he would want to insult 80,000 teachers." He said Mr. Thompson probably was misquoted in news reports.

After a speech on Tuesday morning about the future of New York, Mr. Thompson, a likely mayoral candidate and a former president of the now-defunct Board of Education, said New Yorkers would have to wait to see if the city's math and reading scores show sustained growth.

"It's kind of undecided as to whether there's been major improvement," he said.

Mr. Bloomberg said the truth is that the school system has improved dramatically after decades of leaving children behind.

"You have a right to your own opinions, but you don't have a right to your own facts," he said. "To not acknowledge progress when you're making it is what keeps you from ever making progress."

A spokesman for Mr. Thompson, Jeff Simmons, wrote in an email message that the comptroller was not misquoted. He said Mr. Thompson has consistently raised concerns about progress in the Department of Education.