We began the school year with a campaign to celebrate New York City public schools and to honor the “Passion and Promise” our members bring to their work every day. Two reports released in late February show we have much to celebrate. The work of UFT members is disrupting the spurious narrative our opponents have clung to in the hope of promoting charter schools and destroying the public education system that has served generations of New York City students.

The city’s Independent Budget Office found that New York City public schools no longer lag the rest of the state. The group’s examination of 2015 ELA and math tests for grades 3–8 found continued improvement in proficiency rates for New York City students and “a slow and steady shift” in the performance of city schools compared with statewide results. City students now perform the same as those in the rest of the state in ELA and less than 3 percentage points behind the state average in math. After controlling for demographics, traditional public schools in New York City have a 13.1 percentage point advantage over the rest of the state on ELA and a 12.5 percentage point advantage on math proficiency.

These gains are happening in the largest and most diverse school district in the country, and that is something to be proud of.

On the same day, the College Board released data showing a greater percentage of New York State students who took an Advanced Placement exam in 2015 received passing scores than students did on average nationwide. New York State ranked eighth in the nation on AP pass scores. According to the report, of the 176,671 New York State students who graduated from high school in 2015, 70,452, or 39.9 percent, took one or more AP exams, a significant leap from 2005, when only 31.2 percent of graduating students took one or more AP exams.

None of this takes away from the hard work that still lies ahead and the importance of continuing to build on the gains made so far. But it speaks to the commitment and purpose of our members. In the most trying circumstances and uncertain political times, you keep your eyes on the prize: student achievement.