In this episode it's stated SpongeBob is an excellent student which is contrary to his school status in just about every other episode featuring Mrs. Puff. However, he's an excellent student because of his politeness and neatness; his "Good Noodle" rewards are for "Attendance, penmanship, basic desk sanitation", etc.
Clams is a parody of Jaws the title card replaces the shark with a clam.