Lincoln Elementary, Sanger CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elementary

Lincoln Elementary sits on 14th Street in Sanger, a small Central Valley city about 16 miles east of Fresno, surrounded by citrus groves and farmland that have defined the local economy for generations. The school serves kindergarten through sixth grade as a regular public school within Sanger Unified, a district operating about 20 schools across the community.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino, with the vast majority of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. That economic profile places Lincoln squarely in the high-need tier, and it shapes what the state testing results mean in context. California's CAASPP Smarter Balanced assessments show that, across the tested grades, roughly a third of Lincoln's students are scoring at or above the proficient level in English language arts, and a similar share in math. Within those overall figures there is some grade-to-grade variation: sixth graders are posting the school's strongest results in both subjects, while fourth and fifth grade math scores fall noticeably lower. Science scores, measured in fifth grade by the California Science Test, are below the school's ELA and math rates. Placed against districts in Fresno County, Lincoln's combined proficiency index lands just below the midpoint of that group, a position that reflects a school with room to grow rather than one at either extreme of the county. Trend data covers only the most recent tested year, so it is not yet possible to say whether scores are moving up, flat, or declining over time. A parent would be well served by asking the school directly about what supports are in place and how student progress is tracked year to year.

Data on chronic absenteeism and special education rates were not available in what was provided, and English learner counts were also missing. Those gaps matter for families with children who may need additional services, and the school is the right place to ask.

The Sanger community itself is a mix of a walkable historic downtown and newer residential and commercial growth spreading west along the State Route corridor. The downtown area has a library branch, a depot museum, city parks, and a cluster of local restaurants and shops; farther out, national chains have arrived. The city is actively growing, with new single-family subdivisions announced in 2025 and a recently adopted housing element guiding development through the early 2030s. Home values here are well below the California state benchmark, though still above the national midpoint, and rents consume a meaningful share of household income for many families. The local job base centers on agriculture, food manufacturing, healthcare, and retail, with Fresno's broader labor market reachable for commuters.

Sanger Unified was the subject of a search for recent district-level changes relevant to parents, but no specific confirmed updates on curriculum shifts, bond measures, or program additions could be verified within available sources, so that is left out rather than guessed at.

For a family considering Lincoln Elementary, the picture is a neighborhood school serving a high-need, heavily Latino community in a small agricultural city with a growing housing stock and a below-midpoint academic performance profile by county comparison. The school is worth visiting in person and asking specific questions about instructional support, English learner services, and how teachers use assessment data to guide individual students.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 60% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 45% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 35% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 44% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 57% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 49% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 49% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 52% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 30% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

This schoolSanger 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.