March 2004

1. State Tests: A Harbinger of More Excellence to Come
   For several years now, New York students have shown steady improvement on state tests given in math and English Language Arts. Students' scores on these tests, given in fourth and eighth grade, have been rising and there are now clear signs the performance gap is beginning to close.
2. Regents Diplomas: More than Circumstance and Pomp
   Over the last decade, the percentage of New York students earning Regents diplomas has climbed steadily, even as the number of total credits required has increased and the standards have grown more rigorous. It is far more difficult to earn a Regents diploma today than in the 1970s and 1980s, yet more New York students - and more minority students - are rising up to meet the challenge.
3. Advanced Placement: A Boom in Excellence
   More than 75 percent of New York's high schools offer AP courses, far above the national average of 55 percent, according to The College Board. The extensive availability of AP courses in public schools has helped trigger explosive growth in the number of 11th- and 12th-graders demonstrating their intellectual excellence and readiness for college. The spread of the AP culture is being helped by a historic partnership between NYSUT and The College Board to expand AP opportunities for urban and rural students. That work is paying off.
4. New York: Home to "America's Best High Schools"
   28 of the top 100 public high schools in the United States in 2003 are found in New York State, according to Newsweek magazine. And, in ranking the best 822 public high schools in the nation - representing the top 4 percent of all high schools - Newsweek included 125 from New York, more than any state except California.8 In other words, some 15 percent of the very best public high schools in America were found in New York State in 2003.
5. Scientific Rigor: New York Dominates the "Junior Nobels"
   Science and math education is blooming in New York State. Recent controversy over Regents exams in physics and Math A should not overshadow what is a consistently impressive showing by New York students in science and math.
6. BOCES: "One of the finest systems in the country"
   While 41 states offer education services on a regional basis, and 27 states have a statewide network of programs, New York's Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) system is alone in the breadth, variety and opportunities for excellence it offers students. National experts agree that New York's BOCES are, by far, the largest and most effective in the nation.
7. Opening the Doors to Opportunity
   In 1977, 63 percent of New York's public school graduates entered college.10 By 2002 - 25 years later - the percentage of New York's high school graduates going on to college had skyrocketed to 81 percent, well above the national average of 66 percent.11 New York currently ranks 15th in the nation in its percentage of students entering college directly from high school.
8. SUNY, CUNY: More competitive than ever
   The State University, City University and New York's community colleges are perhaps more competitive today than at any time in their recent history. The recent explosion of excellence in public schools has helped New York's public higher education institutions raise admissions standards and attract more top-caliber students.
9. Quality Schools Fuel the Economy
   Improvement in New York's public education system - and the deepening pool of excellence in many public schools - is catching the attention of business executives and influential opinion-shapers across the nation.
10. New York's Teachers: At the Head of the Class
    New York's teachers are the best-trained, most highly educated and experienced in the nation. They are, in large measure, why the vast majority of New York's public schools are succeeding, and why excellence is becoming more commonplace in classrooms across the state. Their work is augmented by tens of thousands of dedicated and highly skilled teaching assistants who also undergo rigorous training to become certified, and then must keep current with developments in their field.

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