Abraham Lincoln Elementary, La Crescenta CA

Original Research by School Decision on Abraham Lincoln Elementary

Abraham Lincoln Elementary sits in La Crescenta, a quiet foothill residential community north of Los Angeles, serving kindergarten through sixth grade. The school enrolls a small student body drawn from the neighborhood's single-family homes and scattered multifamily properties. The student population is substantially white, with meaningful representation of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students; about a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school's state assessment results show solid performance. In English language arts across grades three through six, students cluster in the mid-to-upper range, with particularly strong outcomes in sixth grade. Math proficiency is similarly positioned, with fourth grade showing notably higher attainment than third grade, while fifth and sixth grades remain strong. Science results, available only for fifth grade, show proficiency at a lower threshold than in reading and math, a pattern parents may want to explore with the school to understand what science instruction looks like at the elementary level. Across tested subjects and grades, Abraham Lincoln's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among elementary schools in Los Angeles County, a meaningful position reflecting consistent strength rather than outlier performance in any single domain.

The school operates within Glendale Unified, a district currently navigating structural budget pressures. Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, secondary schools across the district are reverting from a seven-period to a six-period schedule, reducing elective options for middle and high school students; this affects families planning their children's progression through the district. The district is also exploring a substantial general obligation bond measure for the coming year to address a significant facilities maintenance backlog, which would carry property-tax implications for homeowners. These are district-wide shifts that shape the educational environment beyond Abraham Lincoln's own gates.

La Crescenta itself is a demographically stable, car-dependent foothill neighborhood with high home values and limited walkability outside commercial corridors like Foothill Boulevard. The area is geographically constrained by mountains, limiting new construction, though a cluster of denser housing projects are now in development or approved along the foothill corridor. The community has a small local employment base; most residents commute to surrounding cities for work. Schools and the LA County Library are civic anchors, and bus service exists but is limited. Families who choose this area tend to be drawn to its quiet, suburban residential character and proximity to nature, accepting the car-dependent reality and higher housing costs that come with it.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 60% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 59% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 52% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 55% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 58% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 61% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 62% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 683%

School 83% · District 61% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Science

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 44% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

This schoolGlendale 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income69%Higher-income79%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income85%Higher-income74%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income97%39 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income85%Higher-income81%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income64%Higher-income79%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income73%Higher-income82%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income67%Higher-income80%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income76%Higher-income67%9 pp gap