The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elem
Lincoln Elem serves the youngest students in the Lincoln school district, from prekindergarten through fifth grade, and it is the only elementary school in the community. For a family looking at this school, the central facts are straightforward: it is a very small public school in a rural Kansas county seat, serving a predominantly white student body where a substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The school’s academic picture is mixed, with stronger early-grade reading results and noticeable drops in proficiency as students move through the grades, especially in math and science.
The town of Lincoln is the seat of Lincoln County, a place that has seen long-term population decline dating back to the agricultural mechanization of the early twentieth century. The city’s population has shrunk over many decades, and a past initiative to offer free residential lots to attract new residents was suspended. Housing in the area is well below national and state benchmarks in value, though home prices have risen recently. The local economy leans on the county government and the school district itself as major employers, with agriculture remaining a broader county presence. For a parent moving here, this is a stable but slow-growth setting—a place where the school is a central institution, not one of many options.
Within the school, enrollment is small, and the demographic profile is overwhelmingly white, with a small Hispanic share and even smaller Asian and multiracial representation. A little over half of students come from households with economic need, as measured by meal assistance eligibility. No data is available on the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent with a child who has an individualized education plan or is learning English would want to follow up directly with the district.
On state assessments—the Kansas Assessment Program (KAP)—the results show a clear pattern across grades. In third grade, reading proficiency was well above half of students meeting the standard. By fourth grade, that share dropped, and by fifth grade it was lower still. Math proficiency in third grade was also solid, but it fell to a lower level in both fourth and fifth grades. Science, tested only in fifth grade, showed the lowest proficiency of any tested subject. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it above the midpoint when compared with the other district in Lincoln County. That is a narrow comparison—only two districts in the county—but within that small set the school’s performance is toward the top. Still, the grade-level declines are worth a parent’s attention; the transition from primary to upper elementary appears to bring real challenges, especially in math and science.
Because Lincoln Elem serves only grades PK through 5, there is no graduation rate to consider, and the school does not offer high school programs such as advanced placement or career pathways. Those opportunities would begin at Lincoln Junior/Senior High School. The district brief turned up no recent program or policy changes that would affect a parent’s decision, and no information on class sizes, staffing ratios, or discipline was available.
For a family, the bottom line is this: Lincoln Elem is a small, community-anchored elementary school in a shrinking rural town. It offers the intimacy and predictability of a single-school elementary experience. Academically, third graders show commendable reading and math results, but the dip in later grades is a soft spot that a parent would want to discuss with the school. The housing market is inexpensive by national standards, though prices are rising. If you value a close-knit setting and are comfortable with the academic variability that comes with a very small school, Lincoln Elem fits. If a consistently high proficiency rate across all elementary grades is your priority, the fourth- and fifth-grade numbers warrant a closer look.
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