The top reported proficiency rate is 83% in Math. The lowest is 69% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School is one of the early-elementary buildings in the Fort Madison Community School District, serving kindergarten through third grade. It is a regular public school with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. Because it serves only primary grades, measures like high school graduation rates do not apply, and the school has no chronic absenteeism data reported in the available records.
The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a noticeable Hispanic presence and a small number of students who identify as two or more races. Other racial groups are represented in tiny numbers or not at all. Special-population counts, such as students with IEPs or English learners, were not available in the data provided.
Lincoln’s academic picture comes from state testing in third grade, the only tested grade in the building. In both math and English language arts, the school’s proficiency rates placed it among the stronger performing schools in Lee County when compared with other district-level proficiency indexes. The overall proficiency index stood above the midpoint of the county’s three districts. Math proficiency was notably high, while English language arts proficiency, though solid, was at a more moderate level. Every tested student participated, which supports the reliability of the results.
No program offerings, course access data, or staffing ratios were available in the provided records. The district brief notes that Fort Madison schools implemented a districtwide 1-to-1 Chromebook initiative beginning in the 2021-2022 school year, so a device program likely applies here as well, though the data does not confirm its reach into the primary grades.
The school sits in Fort Madison, a small Mississippi River city with a historic downtown core, a classic grid street pattern, and a mix of late-19th-century architecture. The city’s economy has been shaped by manufacturing and state institutions. The Sheaffer Pen Company, once a dominant employer, closed its plant there. The Iowa State Penitentiary remains a major employer, and the BNSF and Union Pacific railroads operate through the city. Housing values in the area are modest, well below both state and national benchmarks. The local housing market has seen a slight year-over-year decline in value. Median household income nationally has held around the low 80-thousand-dollar range, but no Fort Madison-specific household income figure was provided.
A significant facility change is underway in the district: voters approved a bond referendum in 2022 to build a new high school, scheduled to open for the 2025-2026 school year. The bond carries a direct property tax increase for district residents. That new construction reflects a long-term capital investment for the community.
Lincoln Elementary is a kindergarten-through-third-grade building with a tested third-grade cohort that performs well relative to other Lee County districts, especially in math. The school’s size is typical for its grade band. The broader community is a small river city with a modest housing market, a historic downtown, and a mix of institutional and industrial employment. Parents considering the school will want to understand how the district’s early elementary curriculum connects to the upper grades, and what special education and English learner supports look like at this level, as that information was not provided here. The high school bond vote signals active community investment in school facilities, which may matter to families planning to stay in the district through graduation.
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