After seeing high school graduation rates improve under his watch, Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the slight decline on Monday as a sign that the city is holding steady despite the state’s tougher graduation standards.

After 14 years on the job, Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of the City University of New York, is stepping down this summer. He tells WNYC that while the system has changed and grown, the persistently high number of city students who are not ready for college is “too high.” Take a listen.

The same day the city unveiled a web-based college assistance site, two experts on access to higher education explore some of the issues low-income and first-generation college students face. It’s one thing to get into college; it’s another to pay for it or make it to graduation.

In the first of an occasional series, SchoolBook features an interview with two high school seniors on the college application process. Hear how one chose the early action route and the other, well, she is scrambling to get her applications submitted in time.

Now that the city is measuring how well high schools prepare their students for college, the data reveals some schools post high graduation rates but very low college readiness rates. SchoolBook charted the 10 schools with the biggest gaps and found the difference between a graduation rate and a college readiness rate could be larger than 70 percentage points. But officials insist that doesn’t mean the schools aren’t serving their students.

Here’s a deeper dive into the grades and scores released Monday afternoon for the city’s 500-plus high schools. Listen to our analysis and read how other media outlets covered the release of the high school progress reports for the 2011-12 school year.

A new report highlights the disparities in college-readiness between students from low-income city neighborhoods and their wealthier peers. Despite efforts to increase the number of high school options, it argues demographics still determine a child’s destiny.

All families immersed in the college application process: this is a must-listen item. Journalists who cover higher education tell WNYC of the challenges facing this generation, including rising tuitions, burdensome student debt and poor job prospects upon graduation. If that’s not enough to depress you, there’s even an interactive graphic that allows you to compare the cost of college when you attended with current costs.

A top education official outlines the city’s goal of improving the quality of learning and teaching so that more students are prepared to enter – and graduate from – college. He says when the focus is on developing resilient and independent thinkers, strong test scores will follow.

Matthew Willoughby, who leads the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction, explains how he gets his students ready for college with creative projects and field trips in addition to traditional academics.