The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Prescott Elementary School
Prescott Elementary School is a neighborhood public school in Lincoln, Nebraska, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits in the Lincoln Public Schools system, the largest school district in the state. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and serves a population that is economically diverse by a measure that may matter to a family: a substantial share of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a context where many families rely on the federally assisted lunch program.
The student body is broadly mixed in its racial and ethnic makeup. White students make up the largest single group but are far from a majority. Families will find a school where no single background dominates, with notable shares of students who are Hispanic, Black, Asian, and of two or more races. This kind of diversity in a public elementary school is a plain characteristic of the peer environment a child will experience every day.
On state assessments, Prescott’s results present a mixed and grade-dependent picture. In third and fourth grade, students scored at a level that suggests roughly half or more of them met the state’s proficiency bar in English language arts, a result that many families would view as solid. Science in fifth grade also came in at a level where a clear majority of students met the proficiency standard, the strongest subject-area result for any tested grade. Math told a different story. Performance in third and fourth grade was lower than in English, and by fifth grade, the number of students meeting the proficiency standard was effectively nil. A parent with a child who struggles in math will almost certainly want to ask the school directly what interventions and supports are in place for that grade and subject, because the test data alone points to a significant gap. Overall, when averaged across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter among the districts of Lancaster County. This is a fact that merits a direct conversation with the school to understand what efforts are underway and how a particular child would fare there.
The district that runs Prescott, Lincoln Public Schools, has been through a period of major facilities expansion. A very large bond issue, passed in 2020, funded the construction of two new high schools and a new elementary school, along with extensive renovations to existing buildings. This has reshaped attendance boundaries and relieved overcrowding in parts of the city. For a family living in Prescott’s attendance area, the immediate elementary school experience may feel less directly affected, but the district’s overall pattern of growth and facility investment is a factor in how resources and attention are distributed across the system. In addition, the district began rolling out a science-of-reading approach to early literacy instruction across all elementary schools starting in 2023, aligning with state law. This means Prescott’s youngest students are being taught reading through a structured, evidence-based method that emphasizes phonics and phonemic awareness.
The neighborhood around Prescott is in a well-established section of Lincoln, a city that functions as both the state capital and the economic anchor of the region. The local economy is stable, driven by government, the university, healthcare, and a growing high-tech sector. Lincoln has been growing steadily, and the housing market in Prescott’s zip code reflects a citywide pattern of rising home values. Rents have also been climbing, making housing affordability a live issue for many residents. The school itself is part of a mature urban district, not a fast-growing suburban fringe, so families moving into the area should expect a settled, mostly built-out environment with a mix of older homes and infill development.
Prescott is an elementary school, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no advanced placement or career and technical education pathways to assess. The school’s identity is entirely in its early grades mission. For a parent, the central question is whether the school’s academic profile, particularly the weak math results in the upper elementary grades, matches the level of support their child will need, and whether the strong English and science scores in the lower grades are a sign of uneven instruction or simply a cohort effect. Those are questions best answered by a school visit and a conversation with the principal and teachers.
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