Lincoln School, Nutley NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln School

Lincoln School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade in Nutley, a densely populated suburban township in northern Essex County. The school is one of five elementary schools in the Nutley Public School District, and its student body reflects the broader community’s diversity. White and Hispanic students each make up a substantial share of enrollment, with a more modest presence of Asian students and smaller numbers of Black students and students of two or more races. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a relatively low share compared with many districts nationally and suggests a mostly middle-income peer environment.

On state assessments, Lincoln’s results present a mixed picture and show a clear upward trajectory through the grades. In English language arts, the share of students meeting proficiency standards is lower in third grade and rises consistently through fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, where it reaches a notably high level. Math proficiency also trends upward across the grade levels tested, starting lower in third grade and climbing to a solid rate by sixth grade. Science, which is tested only in fifth grade, shows a weaker result, with a modest share of students meeting the state’s standard. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports early literacy and science instruction, especially given the strong growth seen in later elementary ELA.

The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, positions Lincoln above the midpoint among the districts in Essex County. That makes it a solid performer within a large and varied county, but not among the top tier. No chronic absenteeism or graduation data is available, which is expected for a school that ends at sixth grade.

Lincoln’s setting is purely suburban. Nutley is described as a bedroom community with tree-lined residential streets, and the school sits on a residential street near Harrison Street. The township’s parks and recreation system is extensive, with playgrounds and sports fields distributed throughout, and no home is more than a half mile from a park. The township’s commercial corridors are along Franklin Avenue and other main roads, and the overall layout is auto-oriented, with Route 21 running along the eastern border and the Garden State Parkway nearby. NJ Transit bus service connects to Newark and New York, but daily life in Nutley is car-dependent for most families.

The housing market in Nutley reflects the broader pressures of northern New Jersey. Home values are well above the national median, and the typical home in the area is priced at a level that makes ownership a stretch for many households, particularly with mortgage rates where they are. Rents are also high, and renting is generally less expensive than buying at current interest rates, though the monthly cost of a mortgage still exceeds the typical rent by a meaningful amount. The local market shows a moderate supply of homes for sale, with homes staying on the market for about a month before going under contract, indicating steady but not frenzied demand.

The Nutley Public School District has recently shifted toward full-day prekindergarten as the standard offering, expanding enrollment substantially while reducing half-day slots. This may matter for families with younger children who are weighing early education options and childcare schedules. The district otherwise operates a traditional elementary-through-high-school structure, with Lincoln feeding into John H. Walker Middle School and then Nutley High School.

Lincoln School fits a family looking for a solid suburban elementary experience in a community that is residential and family-oriented, with a student body that is economically diverse but not high-poverty, and academic results that strengthen as students move through the grades. The early-grade ELA and science numbers are areas a prospective parent would want to understand better by visiting and talking with teachers and the principal.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 56% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 59% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 60% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 62% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 48% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 69% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 69% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 686%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Science

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 40% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolNutley 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 3Lower-income19%Higher-income31%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income61%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income71%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income73%Higher-income92%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income36%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income46%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income48%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income51%11 pp gap