The school was the 294th-ranked publichigh school in New Jersey out of 337 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2016 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools". The school was the 307th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's 2014 rankings of the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 321st in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 286th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 285th in 2008 out of 316 schools. Schooldigger.com ranked the school 292nd out of 376 public high schools statewide in its 2010 rankings which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the language arts literacy and mathematics components of the High School Proficiency Assessment. In 2012, Schooldigger.com ranked Garfield High School 306th out of 389 New Jersey High Schools in combined HSPA scores in the state, an increase of 10 positions from 2011.
Athletics
The Garfield High School Boilermakers compete in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, made up of private and public high schools located in Bergen County, Hudson County and Passaic County, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. With 794 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2015-16 school year as North I, Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 786 to 1,074 students in that grade range. Prior to realignment that took effect in the fall of 2010, Garfield was a member of the smaller Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League. The 1939 football team defeated Miami High School in a game played at the Miami Orange Bowl in front of a crowd of 25,000 by a score of 16-13, capturing the program's first ever national championship. The boys baseball team won the North I Group IV state sectional championships in both 1962 and 1965. The girls volleyball team competed in the Group II state championships, falling to Tenafly High School in 1982 and Fort Lee High School in 1988. The wrestling team won the North I Group II state sectional championship in 1990. The 2015 boys soccer team defeated Dover High School by a score of 4-2 in the tournament final to win the North II Group II state sectional championship, the program's first state title since 1975. The team defeated Holmdel High School by a 2-1 margin, scoring twice with a little more than two minutes remaining in the game, to win the Group II state title at Kean University to capture the program's first state championship.
Administration
The school's principal is Dora D'Amico. Her administration team includes two vice principals.
