The top reported proficiency rate is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School is a regular public school in Grand Island, Nebraska, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Grand Island Public Schools district, which completed and opened Starr Elementary School in a recent school year, a new building that adjusted capacity and attendance boundaries across the district, including for families zoned for Lincoln. The school itself occupies a building at 805 Beal Street, in the city’s residential fabric.
This is an elementary school with a notably large pre-kindergarten program relative to its overall size, a structure that draws a substantial portion of the school’s enrollment before formal kindergarten starts. The elementary grades from kindergarten through fifth grade each have a similar number of students, creating what families would experience as consistent class sizes year to year. The school is a regular neighborhood elementary, not a charter or magnet, and it serves the grade band that includes no high school, so there is no graduation rate to report.
The student body is heavily shaped by a single demographic group: a very large majority of students identify as Hispanic. The remaining students are spread across a much smaller number of white students, a very small number of Black students, a small number of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and a small number of students identifying as two or more races. The data did not include counts for students with disabilities or English learners, a gap that a parent may want to clarify with the school directly, as those programs are often a key part of how an elementary school allocates its staff and resources. Data on free and reduced-price meal eligibility was also absent from the available records, so the economic profile of the student body is not directly measurable here.
State testing results for the 2024-25 school year are reported, but the pattern is unusual. Across all tested grades and subjects, the reported proficiency rates for the most recent year were zero percent. A multi-year trend data set shows a mixed picture: in English language arts, there was a recent-year result at about a third of students proficient, and in math a result near half proficient, with both subjects showing a zero percent result for the most recent single year. Science also reported a zero percent figure for the most recent year. This kind of pattern in elementary-level state assessments could reflect a change in the test itself, a change in how the state calculates cut scores, a data reporting issue, or another administrative factor, rather than a simple measure of student learning. A parent or resident should ask the school for its own explanation of the reported state testing results, because a flat zero across all subjects is not a typical performance snapshot, and the school can clarify what happened. The overall proficiency index for the school, when placed against other schools in Hall County districts, sits in the bottom quartile based on the data that is available.
Grand Island itself is a mid-sized regional hub with a mix of agriculture, manufacturing, and healthcare employers, including a major ammunition manufacturer, two hospitals, and a major freight rail hub. The city is largely auto-dependent: it is the largest in Nebraska without fixed-route public transit, relying on a demand-responsive system that requires advance reservations. The downtown Railside district offers a more walkable cluster of breweries and dining, and the Nebraska State Fairgrounds and Fonner Park are near the city center. Housing values in the school’s zip code area sit below the state median, and rental costs are modest relative to national benchmarks. The city has seen institutional investments, including a new medical center that opened a few years ago and ongoing airport expansions.
For a family, this is a neighborhood elementary in a mid-sized, car-dependent city with a strong industrial and agricultural economy. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a very large pre-kindergarten program. The most pressing question for a parent considering this school is the state testing data, which needs clarification from the school to understand what it represents about the academic program in reading, math, and science.
See more original research from School Decision →