The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in Math. The lowest is 63% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on New York City Geographic District #26
NYC Geographic District #26, a Queens district serving all grades from pre-K through 12, enrolls a substantial student population with a notably diverse composition. About three-fifths of students identify as Asian, with meaningful populations of Hispanic, Black, and white students. The district is a major public school system covering several northeast Queens neighborhoods including Bayside, Fresh Meadows, and Douglaston.
Reading and math proficiency across the district sits in the top quartile among Queens County's districts. In elementary grades through middle school, math proficiency runs in the high seventies to low eighties. Reading proficiency follows a similar band, clustering in the mid-to-high seventies across grades three through eight. Science proficiency is lower, in the sixties at grade five and around sixty percent at grade eight. A meaningful drop in participation rates appears in eighth-grade testing, both in math and science, which may reflect scheduling, course enrollment patterns, or other structural factors; a parent may want to ask the district directly what accounts for the lower testing counts in those grades.
The district operates a network of more than thirty elementary, middle, and high schools spanning the full spectrum from neighborhood primary schools through large comprehensive high schools. Four named high schools appear in the roster: Bayside, Benjamin N Cardozo, Francis Lewis, and Martin Van Buren. Two specialized schools are also listed: Queens High School of Teaching Liberal Arts and Sciences and Business Technology Early College High School. State testing data for high school grades was not available.
Chronic absenteeism across the district runs substantially below the county median, positioning it in the top quartile on attendance. This indicates families and schools are maintaining strong daily participation.
The district has undergone several recent shifts in instructional approach. All elementary schools now follow the NYC Reads mandate, which replaced principal-chosen literacy programs with one of three approved, science-of-reading curricula featuring explicit phonics instruction. Middle and high schools in District 26 were among the first to adopt NYC Solves, a standardized math curriculum initiative emphasizing conceptual understanding through problem-based approaches like Illustrative Mathematics, replacing previous school-by-school choices. These are durable changes to how reading and math are taught that affect the learning experience for every student in those grades.
The district also benefited from the reformed gifted-and-talented admission process introduced citywide. The prior entrance exam for four-year-olds was replaced with teacher recommendation and lottery systems, and kindergarten and third-grade gifted seats expanded to all districts. This shift broadened access to accelerated tracks for younger students.
Recent and ongoing capital projects have targeted school overcrowding in the area. Expansions at P.S. 26 (Rufus King) and P.S. 46 have added classroom capacity, and P.S. 390Q opened as a new elementary school in Bayside. A middle school addition was planned with a 2026 opening, with seats targeted to specific sub-districts facing enrollment pressure.
Data on enrollment demographics shows the breakdown by grade but does not include free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility or English learner populations, so a parent seeking those figures should contact the district directly. Graduation rates for the district were not reported in the available data.
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