The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in Science. The lowest is 10% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elem School
Lincoln Elementary School serves the youngest students in the Rochelle school system, enrolling a small body of pre-kindergarten through first-grade children in this quiet neighborhood on the city's west side. The school is embedded in a community shaped by food processing, logistics, and manufacturing jobs along the rail corridors, with a downtown historic district offering some walkable civic life but most of daily life oriented toward car travel.
The student body is diverse. About half the enrollment is Hispanic and about half is white, with smaller numbers of Black students, multiracial students, and students of other backgrounds. While free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility data was not available, the composition itself reflects both the working-family character of Rochelle's economy and the city's role as a hub for industrial and transportation employment.
State testing data on file covers third through fifth grades, showing performance considerably below the mark across both math and reading. The pattern is consistent: in math, proficiency fell from modest levels in grade three down to single-digit rates by grade five. In reading, the results are similarly low across all tested grades. Science proficiency in fifth grade was also weak. These results should be read with care. The data comes from a single year early in the pandemic recovery period, and the testing numbers themselves are small, which can make year-to-year results volatile. A parent may want to follow up with the school directly on whether performance has shifted since that snapshot and what support structures exist for early-grade reading and math. It is also worth noting that assessments in kindergarten and below are not state-tested in Illinois, so the school's work with the youngest learners in pre-K and early grades is not reflected in these numbers.
Relative to other district-run schools in Ogle County, Lincoln's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. The county districts as a whole show much stronger results. This is important context: the school sits within a county where district averages are notably higher than what Lincoln is currently reporting, which can indicate either that the school is struggling with particular challenges or that there is meaningful room to learn from neighboring districts' practices.
The school is stable and well-positioned in the district's near-term plans. The district is currently investing heavily in Tilton Elementary School, a major renovation and expansion project that began in summer 2025 and is expected to substantially modernize that building through 2026. Additionally, Stepping Stones Preschool is moving from Lincoln Elementary to the vacant May School building for fall 2025 to expand its reach and transition to a full-day, five-day model under a state grant. This change means that Lincoln's pre-K and early-childhood footprint will shift. The district has also raised its property tax levy moderately in recent years to fund operations and capital projects, a direct cost to homeowners in the school's attendance area.
Rochelle itself is a small city actively pursuing new residential and commercial growth. Recent housing projects including senior lofts and family apartments broke ground in the past two years, and the city established a new tax increment financing district in 2024 to encourage further development, with infrastructure upgrades expected around 2027. For a family weighing Lincoln, these broader trends suggest a stable if changing neighborhood with both working-class roots and some upward movement in housing and development.
The school's central challenge is academic performance. The available evidence shows learners are not yet meeting Illinois state standards at rates that match the county norm. Early-grade literacy and numeracy are foundational, and parents considering this school should ask directly about the instructional approaches, interventional supports, and recent trend data the school can share. What matters most at this stage is how the school is responding to these results and what families can expect as their child moves through kindergarten and into early elementary years.
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