The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lincoln Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School is a regular public elementary school in Grants Pass, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a moderately sized school whose student body is substantially white, with Hispanic students and students of two or more races also well represented. A significant share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which gives a measure of the economic circumstances many families bring.
The school’s academic performance on Oregon’s state assessments in the most recent testing year showed a mixed picture. In math, proficiency rates were higher in third and fourth grade than in fifth grade, where they were markedly lower. In English language arts, rates also varied by grade: fourth grade had a notably stronger showing than third, with fifth grade somewhere in between. Science, tested only in fifth grade, posted a rate that was lower than the ELA rate for that same grade. When combining all tested subjects and grades into an overall proficiency index and comparing that figure across Josephine County’s school districts, Lincoln Elementary placed in the top quartile, meaning it performed among the higher end of the small set of districts in the county. That relative strength is worth noting, but the grade-level variation within the school itself means that a family may want to ask the school about the patterns behind those numbers, especially the drop in fifth-grade math and science.
The school is part of the Grants Pass School District 7, which has been in motion recently. In 2023 voters approved a capital improvement bond that funds safety upgrades, roofing, HVAC, and classroom improvements across district buildings. That bond replaces an expiring levy and will affect property taxes for families in the district while delivering long-term facility work. The district also adopted new elementary reading materials in the 2023–2024 school year, aligning with Oregon’s Early Literacy Framework, a curriculum shift meant to improve early literacy outcomes for all elementary students. Those district-level changes may be relevant to families considering Lincoln Elementary, particularly the literacy focus, since the school’s own third-grade ELA results were one of the lower points in the data.
Grants Pass, the county seat of Josephine County, sits along the Rogue River on Interstate 5. It functions as a regional commercial and civic hub for the surrounding area. The city’s population skews older, with a meaningful retiree presence alongside working families with children. Housing values in the zip code covering the school are around the state average, and rents have risen modestly. The city itself is growing at a moderate pace. The downtown area features a historic commercial corridor, a landmark bridge, and riverfront parks that host seasonal events, but outside that core the city is largely auto-oriented. For a family considering this school, the housing market in Grants Pass is relatively attainable compared to Oregon’s pricier metro areas, and the district’s bond-funded facility upgrades may make the school’s physical plant a point to investigate.
Lincoln Elementary sits within a district that is investing in its buildings and its early literacy curriculum. The school’s own test results show bright spots in some grades and subjects but also soft spots, especially in later elementary science and math. A parent would want to understand how the school’s teaching teams address those gaps. The school’s position among county peers is respectable, but with a small comparison set, that tells only part of the story. The more immediate question for a family is whether the school’s instruction and support align with their child’s needs.
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