The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 3% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Junior High School
Lincoln Junior High School is a small, seventh- and eighth-grade public school serving the south-suburban village of Dolton, in Cook County. The school enrolls roughly a hundred-sixty students, almost entirely from the surrounding area. The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with smaller numbers of Latino and other students; specific counts on economically disadvantaged students, English learners, or students with disabilities were not available in the data.
Dolton itself is a car-dependent, postwar residential suburb about twenty miles south of Chicago. Once a manufacturing center, the village has experienced decades of population loss and fiscal strain, with its primary civic institutions now the park district, library, and (as of 2025) a heritage project around Pope Leo XIV's childhood home. The median home value in the ZIP code is modest, and rents have risen notably in recent years. Much of the resident population commutes to jobs elsewhere in the Chicago region, and the local economy is anchored by health care, warehousing, and retail rather than industry.
Lincoln Junior High's recent state test results show very low proficiency across subjects. In mathematics, seventh graders achieved single-digit proficiency and eighth graders around five percent. In English language arts, seventh graders reached roughly twenty-seven percent and eighth graders roughly twenty-five percent. In science, eighth grade proficiency was around eleven percent. When compared to districts across Cook County, this school's overall proficiency index falls into the bottom quartile. State testing data for Grade 5 and 6 science, as well as for grades three through six in both math and English language arts, was not reported; this gap reflects the school's actual grade configuration (serving seventh and eighth only), not missing information.
The school's participation rate in state testing appears robust, with nearly all eligible students taking the assessments. The low proficiency numbers, therefore, reflect actual performance rather than opt-out patterns.
Beyond test results, little data on school operations, programs, staffing, discipline, or student support was available in the current dataset. A parent may want to reach out directly to the school or district to understand what academic interventions, course offerings, or support services exist for students and how the school approaches skill-building in literacy and math given these proficiency levels.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter, magnet, or specialized program. It draws from the local Dolton community, where housing is affordable relative to Cook County benchmarks and where many families have roots. Lincoln's role is as the junior high serving this particular neighborhood rather than as a destination school. Whether this school aligns with a family's educational priorities and what resources it has to address current achievement levels are conversations worth having directly with school leadership.
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