Bart Gets a "Z"/References

Cultural References

 * The movie that Bart and Mrs. Krabappel watch together is a parody of the 1986 film Back to School, starring Rodney Dangerfield. It apparently stars Larry Burns, who was voiced by Dangerfield in the eighth season episode Burns, Baby Burns.
 * The "Z" in the episode's title refers to Zachary Vaughn.
 * The title is a reference to previous episodes, Bart Gets an F, Bart's Dog Gets an F and Lisa Gets an A.
 * The Answer book is a reference to The secret which is a self-help book also turned into a movie.
 * "Blue Bronco" is an obvious parody of the real life drink "Red Bull".

Trivia

 * The blackboard in the background during the Parent/Teacher Night scene between Zachary Vaughn and Homer reads "zackattack.com". This website, that did not exist when the episode was first aired, could be a parody of screwattack.com. Today, the website exists and promote The Simpsons.
 * This is one of the few times the end credits differ from the normal ones. In this case the credit s are in fancy writing.
 * This is the only episode in season 21 to have the normal music for the end credits.
 * In real life, Tufts University does not have an M.Ed. program.

Goofs

 * Krabappel takes the kids' cellphones and keeps them in a box. However, just a second later, when the kids groan, the cellphones are on their tables. Then, they disappear again.