New York, NY —

A new report says there's been a 70 percent surge in the number of public high school graduates entering the City's Community College system over the past seven years. Mayor Bloomberg also points to a 37 percent growth in enrollment at CUNY's four-year colleges, and he says it comes even as admission standards are higher.

BLOOMBERG: More of our public high school graduates are ready for college level work, whether they go to CUNY schools or elsewhere, and that's gonna to make a huge difference in helping them succeed in today's increasingly knowledge based economy.

The mayor attributes the CUNY enrollment trends to the reforms he's made in the city school system. He’s currently pushing for renewal of the state law that granted him control of city schools, which expires in June. Some parent and community groups are fighting to reign in that control.

The data was produced by CUNY researchers as a result of a partnership the Bloomberg Administration encouraged between the Department of Education and CUNY.