Lincoln Humanities/Communications Magnet High School

Lincoln Humanities/Communications Magnet High School is a public magnet high school in Dallas, TX, serving 580 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Dallas Independent School District (Isd), and it is currently in the midst of a powerful academic turnaround that sets it apart from many nearby schools.

Lincoln has made remarkable academic gains in recent years, with test scores more than doubling since the 2022-2023 school year. For example, Algebra I proficiency jumped from 8% to 40.7%, and Biology from 13% to 67.4%. This upward trajectory has lifted the school from the bottom 7th percentile to the 36th percentile statewide, earning it a 2-star rating. This rate of improvement is not seen in its most direct peer school, James Madison High School, located just 1.4 miles away, which serves a similarly high-poverty student body but has shown volatile performance. Lincoln now outperforms James Madison in key subjects like Biology (67.4% vs. 48.9%) and English I (41.9% vs. 32.4%). The school also shows notable strength with its Special Education and English Learner students, both earning 3-star ratings, and its African American students rank in the 66th percentile statewide—a stark contrast to the school's overall ranking.

However, this academic progress has not yet translated into improved graduation rates, which have declined to 78.5%, below the district average of 84.4%. The dropout rate has also increased to 5.4%, nearly double the district average. Additionally, the school struggles to serve its highest-achieving students, with its Gifted and Talented population ranking in the bottom 1st percentile. While Lincoln is closing the gap with elite magnets like School Of Science And Engineering and School For The Talented And Gifted, which have near-perfect scores, its biggest challenge remains ensuring that its academic improvements lead to more students crossing the graduation stage.