A student uses a TI-84 Plus calculator to help solve...

A student uses a TI-84 Plus calculator to help solve math problems on May 1, 2013. Credit: Heather Walsh

New York State, which once ranked near the top in student achievement on advanced tests, has slipped in recent years, as other states including Connecticut, Massachusetts and Virginia have surged ahead.

The downward trend was underlined Tuesday, with the release of the 2014 results from Advanced Placement tests. They show that New York now ranks eighth behind six states and the District of Columbia, in percentages of 11th- and 12th-graders taking the college-level exams. New York ranked seventh last year under a different accountability system, since revised.

Results are from the Manhattan-based College Board, the nonprofit agency that sponsors the SAT college-entrance exams, along with AP and other assessments.

The College Board overhauled its rankings this year to reflect annual achievement of 11th- and 12th-graders, rather than graduating classes. But the general picture for New York remains the same -- a slow, perceptible decline in national standings.

In 2004, the state stood in second place, just below Maryland, in percentages of 11th- and 12th-graders taking Advanced Placement tests. New York's rank dropped to fourth in 2007, to fifth in 2008 and sixth in 2011.

In Albany, state education officials have said little about the drop in rankings, focusing instead on the fact that New York, like other states, has continued increasing percentages of students taking and passing AP tests. Other states have boosted their numbers faster, however, and thus moved ahead of New York in rankings.

In Annapolis, Maryland, a state website proclaims, "Maryland is #1 in AP success."

Some Long Island school officials have voiced concern over the trend.

Jack Bierwirth, superintendent of the Herricks district in North Hempstead Town, noted that several states that have improved rankings in recent years -- for example, Virginia and Florida -- operate schools on a countywide basis that makes it easier to provide equitable access to AP courses from one community to another.

"I think it is in everybody's interest to get students to higher levels of achievement and, to me, that should be broad-based," Bierwirth said.

New York State does relatively well in percentages of students who pass AP tests with scores of 3, 4 or 5 -- the levels that often qualify for college credit. The state now ranks sixth among states in that category, down from fifth place in 2013 and second in 2007.

AP scores range from 1 to 5.

"New York remains one of the leading states when it comes to AP participation and performance," said Kate Levin, spokeswoman for College Board. "Still, there is much more the state can do to ensure that students with the potential to succeed in AP courses are able to access those opportunities."

One problem on Long Island is disparity between districts in numbers of AP courses available. A recent Newsday survey found that, while some schools in affluent communities offer 40 such courses or more, other schools in poorer neighborhoods provide fewer than 10 courses.

State Education Commissioner John B. King Jr., in a statement, did not mention state-by-state rankings. King did note that, according to another College Board benchmark, only 37 percent of the state's public-school students demonstrated readiness for college. King said all students needed greater access to advanced coursework.

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