Lincoln Middle School, Dunellen NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Middle School

Lincoln Middle School serves Dunellen’s sixth through eighth graders in a compact, single-building setting embedded within the borough’s residential fabric. As one of three schools in the Dunellen Public School District, it shares the character of a small, densely populated railroad town that has seen recent population growth but also carries a notable poverty rate. The school itself enrolls a moderate number of students for a middle school, and its composition reflects the borough’s diversity: a majority Hispanic student body, with substantial white and Black populations and smaller Asian and multiracial shares. A substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing economic need in clear view.

On New Jersey’s state assessments, Lincoln Middle School’s results show a mixed but largely challenging picture. In English language arts, proficiency rates sit in the mid-to-upper third across grades, with eighth graders reaching the strongest level. Mathematics proficiency is notably lower across all three tested grades, and science proficiency for eighth graders is also low. When compared against middle schools in Middlesex County, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile. A parent evaluating academics here will want to weigh these results against the school’s demographic context and look into what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting the state’s proficiency benchmarks. The school’s ELA trajectory, particularly the improvement by eighth grade, suggests some areas of relative strength, but math and science outcomes are soft spots that merit further discussion with the school.

No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or student-to-staff ratios was available in the records consulted, and information on special education and English learner counts was also absent. A family with a child who has an IEP or who is learning English should ask the school directly about those populations and the supports provided. Likewise, no program listings—such as gifted, music, or career exposure—were present in the data, so parents interested in particular offerings should contact the school.

The community setting is a walkable, transit-linked borough with a NJ Transit rail station at its core. Housing values in the area are above the national median, and the county market has seen active listings rise and days on market shorten, suggesting a competitive environment. Dunellen’s population has grown notably in recent years, which points to rising demand in this small, fully built-out borough, though the local economy remains modest, centered on small retail and services rather than large employers.

The district itself recently secured voter approval for a capital improvement bond covering roof replacements, HVAC and electrical work, security upgrades, and classroom renovations across all three schools, with state aid offsetting a portion of the cost. That investment signals a commitment to the physical plant, though the impact on day-to-day learning conditions is something a visiting parent could assess firsthand.

In sum, Lincoln Middle School operates in a tight-knit, economically mixed community and serves a diverse student body. Its academic results place it below the county midpoint, with ELA performance somewhat more encouraging than math and science. Families will want to probe the school’s approach to improving those outcomes and fill in the gaps left by missing data on student supports, programs, and school climate.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 612%

School 12% · District 12%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 88%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 45%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

even with state median · even with county median

This schoolDunellen Public School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income48%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income47%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income34%Higher-income57%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income15%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income14%Higher-income46%32 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income6%Higher-income9%3 pp gap