Lincoln Elementary School, North Bergen NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elementary School

Lincoln Elementary School is a regular public school in North Bergen, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the North Bergen School District, a single-district municipality in densely developed Hudson County. The school sits on a hilltop neighborhood in a township that blends multi-family residential blocks, busy commercial corridors, and steep topographic variation.

Academically, Lincoln Elementary’s state testing results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments present a mixed picture. In English language arts, the share of students meeting the proficient-or-above bar varied noticeably by grade. Upper elementary and middle school grades generally performed better than the early elementary grades, with one grade – seventh – showing a clear majority of students reaching proficiency. That strength was not consistent across all subjects. In mathematics, proficiency rates were lower across every tested grade, falling below half in all cases and dropping to around one in five students by the end of middle school. Science results were very low in both grades tested, a gap that families may wish to explore further with the school, particularly given that science instruction in the middle years can shape later readiness for high school science courses. Overall, Lincoln Elementary’s proficiency index sits below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Hudson County, a measure that aggregates performance across tested subjects and grades.

The student body is large for a PK-through-8 school, with a sizeable pre-kindergarten and kindergarten cohort that suggests many children enter early. A substantial majority of students are of Hispanic background, with a much smaller share identifying as White and very small numbers identifying as Asian, Black, or multiracial. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a significant portion of families have lower household incomes. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available in this profile. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism and disciplinary actions was also absent from the data.

Because Lincoln Elementary covers nearly the full span of elementary and middle school, students can attend the same building from pre-K through eighth grade before transitioning to high school elsewhere in the district. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not specified. The district’s recent history, based on available public information, shows no major structural changes or policy shifts reported in the span examined.

North Bergen itself is one of the most densely populated municipalities in the country. Its long commercial spine, Bergenline Avenue, concentrates retail, restaurants, and foot traffic, though the township’s extreme hills – often compared to San Francisco – make walking comfortable only on certain routes. The population has grown steadily in recent decades, though recent estimates suggest a slight dip. The Urban Enterprise Zone on portions of Bergenline Avenue offers a reduced sales tax to support local business. Major employers include the Palisades Medical Center on the waterfront, the retail sector along the avenue, and the municipal government and school district. Many residents commute to Manhattan via NJ Transit bus.

Housing values in the area are high relative to the national median, reflecting the broader New York metro market, and rents are similarly elevated. For a family looking at this school, the cost of living in North Bergen is a major consideration. The school’s academic profile, with uneven proficiency results and particularly low science scores, suggests that parents may want to engage directly with the school about instructional support and curriculum. For those seeking a single building that carries a child from early childhood through the end of middle school, Lincoln Elementary provides that continuity in a dense, walkable (if hilly) urban setting.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 34% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 32% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 28% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 23% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 27% · ▲ 8 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 15% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 28% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 40% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 39% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 41% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 45% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 17% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 8% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolNorth Bergen 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 3Lower-income40%Higher-income36%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income60%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income69%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income47%Higher-income46%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income44%Higher-income82%38 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income55%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income36%Higher-income91%55 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income71%46 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income23%9 pp gap