The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in Math. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elem School
Lincoln Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students in Dixmoor, a small, declining south-suburban village in Cook County about seventeen miles south of downtown Chicago. The school enrolls a small cohort drawn entirely from two age groups: about half the enrollment in pre-K and half in kindergarten. The student body is roughly evenly split between Black and Hispanic students, with no white, Asian, or multiracial students reported.
The school is part of West Harvey-Dixmoor Public School District 147, which recently adopted the McGraw Hill Wonders and Maravillas reading curriculum for kindergarten through third grade, paired with Heggerty phonemic awareness instruction. This curriculum shift is the district's evidence-based approach to early literacy instruction and reflects a deliberate choice about how foundational reading skills are taught during the critical K-3 window. The district also passed a property tax increase in late 2025 to stabilize funding, with most new revenue directed to educational expenses.
State assessment data is available only for grades three through five, which means testing results do not apply to Lincoln's current student population. The school's historical proficiency results from 2017, when it served older grades, showed weak performance. In mathematics, fewer than one in three third-graders reached proficiency, and proficiency rates fell sharply in grades four and five, dropping to around one in seven or lower. In English language arts, similar patterns held: one in three third-graders met the standard, while fourth and fifth graders showed proficiency rates below one in five. Science proficiency in grade five was around one in five. These results, now several years old, sit in the bottom quartile when compared to other districts in Cook County. Parents should note that current assessment data for the early grades Lincoln serves is not available; the school's trajectory will depend on how effectively the new K-3 reading curriculum is implemented and supported.
The Dixmoor housing market reflects broader economic pressures in the village. Home values are modest and have declined slightly over the past year. Rents are low, making housing affordable relative to national and state benchmarks, though household incomes in the area are also low. The village itself has been contracting for years, with a modest population decline continuing. Recent public investment has focused on infrastructure repair rather than growth: the village completed a major water-main project and is working on lead service line replacement after years of water-system failures that included boil orders and school closures in 2021. Most employment for Dixmoor residents is in retail, manufacturing, and administrative support work, with wages concentrated in lower income bands.
Parents considering Lincoln should understand that the school serves only the youngest grades, so it functions as a gateway to elementary education in a district working to rebuild its academic foundation through updated reading instruction. The school operates within a small, racially diverse village experiencing economic contraction and infrastructure challenges. Because state testing does not apply to pre-K and kindergarten, early literacy outcomes depend on classroom instruction quality and parental engagement during a developmentally critical period.
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