On August 11, in a comprehensive analysis of 3,500 schools' student achievement rates on New York State Assessments for the past ten years, the New York Times released data which placed Garden City Public Schools in the 99th percentile - ranking 6th of 695 school districts in the state.

"We are delighted with this record of sustained excellence," commented Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen. "It provides further evidence of the quality of our school district and is a tribute to the talents of our faculty, the motivation of our students and the support of the parents."

The NY Times analysis merged test data from 1999 "into a single database, and passing rates and average scores were converted to percentile rankings to put scores into better context." Content area tests included were math, English, science (2004-2008) and social studies (2006-2008) for 4th and 8th grades prior to 2006, and grades 3rd through 8th from 2006 onward, the year New York State initiated annual testing.

Garden City and Manhasset, 6th and 5th respectively, were the only two Long Island school districts to achieve rankings in the top ten of New York State in the NY Times' ten-year analysis.

Dr. Teresa Prendergast, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, framed the district's educational mission: "Our goal is to engage in continuous improvement of the instructional program and data-driven decision-making. This focused approach allows us to use data that are gathered on a regular basis to evaluate how well our current programs meet students' needs. All of this information can then be used by the district to identify professional development activities for teachers and to direct students in need to the appropriate support services as early as possible."