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In the arena of American culture, criticizing public education has become as fashionable as hip-hop music and text-messaging. Social commentators and opponents of public education line up to take potshots at the nation's schools, often in hopes of advancing political causes, such as charter schools or vouchers.

The rhetorical din of public education opponents is often heavy on emotion and light on facts. Critics talk about failing schools without mentioning that the overwhelming majority of public schools are succeeding. They talk about shortfalls in academic achievement while ignoring that - in virtually every demographic - more New York students are going to college than ever before.

Signs indicate that although the work is far from done, public education in New York is headed in the right direction.

"Despite pockets of the state that still face troubling achievement gaps brought on by pressing social issues such as poverty, inadequate housing and under-funding, the majority of public schools in New York, from pre-K through post-grad, have demonstrated consistent, quantifiable progress," said NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi.

New York already leads the nation in such educational benchmarks as SAT and Advanced Placement participation. Scores on state math and English language arts tests have been rising, with some significant gains in historically at-risk demographics.

New York's public colleges have been educating more students and attracting renowned faculty. The result is an encouraging story that New Yorkers do not always hear: a story of progress and achievement, often in the face of difficulty.

Prepared for college

When Newsweek magazine released its 2007 list of the top public high schools in America, many states didn't have a single school in the top 100. New York had 13, with City Honors School in Buffalo finishing in the top 10. Also in Buffalo, McKinley High gets excellent marks for a Buffalo Teachers Federation program recognizing students who are good citizens in the school community.

"While these actions may not show up on report cards, students deserve this kind of daily positive feedback from us as educators," said BTF President Phil Rumore.

When the list is expanded to include the top 200 public high schools in America, 36 New York high schools made the cut - a full 18 percent of the national total.

On the federal Department of Education's 2006 list of Blue Ribbon schools, New York tied for fourth in the nation with 14 - all public schools.

School rankings are a troubling business, as they don't take into account the variety of challenges schools face in educating children. Nevertheless, it is clear that most New York high schools are high achievers.

Public school districts across New York, on the whole, have done a solid job educating children and preparing them for college and beyond. New York is the perennial national leader in SAT participation, with nearly 9 of every 10 students sitting for the exam in 2006.

New York showed solid gains in National Assessment of Educational Progress results released last week. "We're on a continuous course of progress," said Iannuzzi. "While (NAEP) is a clear statement of improvement by African-American and Hispanic students, I don't think we should be letting our guard down. We still have work to do to close the achievement gap."

New York leads the nation in participation in Advanced Placement courses. Of all the state's graduating seniors in 2006, 22.7 percent had scored a passing grade of 4 or higher on at least one AP exam. New York was one of only five states in the nation to cross the 20 percent barrier.

Research shows that students who participate in AP have significantly better college grades and graduation rates.

Examples abound

New York's students compete with the nation's best and brightest - look no further than prestigious national competitions.

New York placed two students in the top 10 in the 2007 Intel Science Talent Search, and three top-10 finishers the previous year. All five were from public schools. New York public schools routinely place prize winners in both the individual and team sections of the Siemens Competition National Finals, where a student from Horseheads High won a $20,000 prize for his 2006-07 research on gold nanoparticles.

Last school year, students from Roslyn took home first place in the Rohm Haas Science Competition, the NASA Explorer Video Podcast Competition and the Columbia University Model Congress, as well as 34 medals at the Long Island Math Fair.

For Donna Baumgartner, president of the Niskayuna Teachers Association, excellence is a way of life for her members and their students. Niskayuna, in Schenectady County, sends 94 percent of graduating seniors to college each year. In 2006, seven high school students were named National Merit Scholarship semi-finalists - a not-uncommon occurrence in the district.

"Niskayuna teachers put the needs of children first and foremost in all areas of planning, preparation, execution and follow-through," Baumgartner said.

Districts like Niskayuna are emblematic of the excellent districts in the cities, rural reaches and suburbs around the state. Consistently rising test scores have validated that New York's public schools are headed in the right direction.

Scores on state tests have shown steady improvement in most major categories since the tests were first implemented in 1999. That year, 67 percent of fourth-graders and only 38 percent of eighth-graders met the standards for the state math test. In 2007, 80 percent of fourth-graders and nearly 60 percent of eighth-graders met the standards.

English language arts scores also have been on the rise, with 2007 ELA scores for fourth- and eighth-graders showing considerable improvement over the 1999 base year. There has been a 40 percent increase in fourth-graders meeting the standards this year over 1999, while the grade 8 increase is about 19 percent.

That progress reaches across a variety of student demographics. The 2007 state test results showed fewer students with serious academic problems in math and English language arts for grades 3-8. Meanwhile, math scores were up for African-American and Latino students, students with disabilities and students in four of the Big Five cities.

What about those things stats don't measure? These signs of academic excellence may be difficult to quantify, but they are clearly present in school districts across the state:

• Three Villages, where the Science Olympiad team from P. J. Gelinas Junior High took home a top-10 overall finish at the 2007 national competition;
• Pittsford has been cited by national education organizations for the excellence of the district music program, its high school and Odyssey of the Mind achievements.
• Wappingers, where all 14 buildings have teachers who have been honored in Who's Who Among American Teachers;
• New Hartford, which had the strongest AP European History program - based on students scoring at least a 3 - of any district its size in the world in 2004.
• Elmont on Long Island and Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem, which were honored by the Schott Foundation for Public Education, noting the high percentage of their African-American male students graduating and moving on to college.

The foundation statement read, "African-American male students can receive excellent educations and graduate college-ready in inner-city high poverty schools, working-class schools and suburban schools. These awards show that regular schools working hard and caring deeply for their students can make it happen."

New York City schools received a burst of good news last month in the announcement that they had won the $1 million Broad Prize for Urban Education for 2007. This goes to large urban school districts that demonstrate the greatest overall performance and improvement in student achievement. The money goes directly to graduating high school seniors for college scholarships.

Tens of thousands of United Federation of Teachers members, led by Randi Weingarten, work in New York City schools.

While the public education system in much of New York is delivering results that are unquestionably excellent, a key priority now is closing the achievement gap that is linked to poverty.

New York is a large and economically diverse state with pockets of urban, suburban and rural poverty where academic achievement often takes a back seat for students dealing with poor housing and inadequate health care.

The 38th annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll on attitudes toward public education concluded that there is "near-consensus support for the belief that the problems the public schools face result from societal issues and not from the quality of schooling."

While there are signs of progress statewide, such as higher scores by African-American and Latino students on state math assessments, the achievement gap remains a pressing problem. However, there is cause for optimism.

Gov. Spitzer and lawmakers have significantly increased the state's commitment to needy schools. Much of the $1.8 billion in new state aid for public education in the 2007-08 state budget is directed toward districts that need it most.

"We finally have a governor who understands that educating the state's most at-risk students is a difficult task that requires additional resources," Iannuzzi said. "By targeting money at schools that need additional support, Gov. Spitzer has put those schools in a position to improve academic achievement."

Models to follow

As education experts look for ways to eliminate the achievement gap (see box, lower left), they have successful models to analyze.

In Elmont, a suburban district on Long Island, and Mannsville, a rural district in northern New York, educators have used a mix of curriculum-mapping, team-teaching, looping and extra help to increase student achievement.

In fact, Elmont was cited nationally by The College Board for having the most African-American students to earn AP credits on the World History exams in 2004 and 2005.

Public schools lead the charge to close the gap. Research shows that Americans want it that way. The Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll found that more than 70 percent of Americans would rather see public schools improved than alternative systems developed.

That same study found that only slightly more than a third of Americans support vouchers. Of those who support charter schools, many had no clear understanding of what charter schools are.

Americans, in short, understand that the achievement gap is urgent, and want the problem addressed through public education.

"New York's public schools are bursting with dedicated teachers, support staff and administrators who are committed to ensuring all students have access to a quality education," said NYSUT Vice President Maria Neira. "When it comes to closing the achievement gap and increasing overall student performance, NYSUT is confident that, with the right resources, our schools will meet and exceed expectations."

- Kevin Hart and Bernie Mulligan