According to the College Board’s 6th Annual AP Report to the Nation, Connecticut topped the charts in terms of the percentage of its high school students who have taken and passed one or more Advanced Placement exams, college-level tests designed to predict college success in a variety of subject areas. In an article by the Hartford Courant, Trevor Packer, Vice President of the AP program, calls Connecticut’s results “remarkable,” noting that the state is one of only 12 to have increased its success rate while also increasing the number of students taking the test.

At first glance, Connecticut’s AP report card does seem impressive; 21.9 percent of Connecticut high school students who took AP tests in 2009 passed at least one exam with a score of three or higher—six percent above the national average (16.9 percent). We should be satisfied with, even proud of, this success, right?

Wrong. Closer inspection reveals a gross disparity between the passage rates of minority and low-income students and those of their white counterparts. While white students represent 71.7 percent of Connecticut’s graduating class, they comprise a larger share of successful AP examinees—79.2 percent. Statistics for low-income and minority students show a reverse trend, with these groups being underrepresented among successful test-takers.

For example, only 2.2 percent of students who passed an AP exam during their high school career were African American, even though African Americans made up 12.2 percent of graduating high school seniors. Similar gaps exist among the Latino, Asian American and low-income populations.

While Connecticut’s overall score is encouraging, there is still work to be done. As long as our success is disproportionately confined to one demographic, we cannot and should not be satisfied with it, even if it puts us at the top of the charts.

Connecticut has proved that it is capable of extraordinary results. But we cannot truly celebrate until all of our students have a chance to share the achievement.