Abraham Lincoln Elementary, Colton CA

Original Research by School Decision on Abraham Lincoln Elementary

Abraham Lincoln Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Colton, a mid-sized Inland Empire city anchored by logistics, healthcare, and rail infrastructure. The school sits in a family-oriented community that has been marked by rapid new residential development, with ongoing growth in housing stock across multiple new projects.

The school's student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a very high concentration of students from low-income households. This reflects Colton's economic profile as a working-class to middle-income city. The enrollment is moderate in size for an elementary school across the grade band, with relatively balanced cohorts across the seven grades.

On California's state assessments for the most recent year, proficiency in both English language arts and mathematics is low. In English, proficiency ranges from around one in five students at the sixth-grade level to approaching three in ten at fourth grade. In mathematics, the range is narrower but similarly concerning, with proficiency below one in three across all tested grades and dropping notably in the fourth and fifth grades. Science proficiency, measured at the fifth-grade level, is particularly low. When averaged across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency sits well below the median among the county's district schools, placing it in the bottom quartile of San Bernardino County schools. Because this is the only year of data available, no trend can be reported.

Kindergarten through second grade are not tested under California's summative assessment system, so their performance cannot be measured against state standards. State data on special education enrollment and English learner counts was not available for this school.

The district, Colton Joint Unified, recently won voter approval for a substantial facilities bond in November 2024, marking the first bond authorization in over a generation. Many of the district's neighborhood schools are decades old and have faced aging infrastructure challenges. The bond will fund repairs, modernization, and facility upgrades across the district. For property owners, this means a new property tax levy that will remain in effect for as long as the bonds are outstanding, adding a lasting cost to homeownership in the area while supporting long-term investment in school buildings.

Colton itself is experiencing residential growth, with multiple new housing developments underway. The city retains a recognizable civic center anchored by the public library and City Hall at 9th and D streets, though the overall city has modest walkability outside its older core. The local economy is heavily dependent on logistics and transportation, with major employers including refrigerated warehousing and trucking operations in the Agua Mansa Industrial Corridor, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, and rail infrastructure. Housing values in the 92324 zip code are moderate for Southern California. Transit options are limited, with Omnitrans bus service and no direct Metrolink station in the city.

A parent considering Abraham Lincoln Elementary should understand that test performance here is well below county benchmarks. The school serves a population facing significant economic constraints, and state assessment data suggests substantial academic challenges across the school. The district's recent bond investment signals a commitment to facility improvements, but the timing means families will bear a new tax cost alongside any facility benefits. Whether this school fits a family depends on weighing these academic and economic realities against other factors such as neighborhood proximity, program fit, or peer community composition.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 31%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 26% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 16% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 22% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 32% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 34% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 33% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 36% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 17% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolColton Joint Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.