Summary:
Zip code 60056 has three middle schools serving grades 6–8: Lincoln Middle School, River Trails Middle School, and Holmes Junior High School, across three school districts. Their enrollment ranges from 459 students at Holmes to 784 at Lincoln. Overall, the schools’ average proficiency is above the state in both English language arts (ELA) and math, but results vary substantially by school. The most important difference for families is the 39-point gap between Lincoln and Holmes in all-grades ELA.
Lincoln leads the group in 2025–2026 ELA, math, and eighth-grade science: 86%, 58%, and 63% proficient, respectively. Its ELA rate is 29 points above the state’s 56%. Holmes is lowest in all three measures, at 46% in ELA, 44% in math, and 44% in science; its math result is still above the state’s 40%. River Trails falls between the two in all-grades results. One exception is eighth-grade ELA: River Trails scored 61%, below the state’s 63%, despite being above the state in all-grades ELA.
ELA improved notably overall from 2024–2025: Lincoln rose 25 points and River Trails 11, while Holmes fell 1. Math increased at all three schools, by 2 to 8 points. Eighth-grade science dipped slightly on average even as the state gained 7 points. SchoolDigger ranks Lincoln highest (149th of 1,126, 87th percentile, four stars) and Holmes lowest (686th, 39th percentile, two stars); River Trails ranks 338th (70th percentile, four stars). Reported student–teacher ratios are 13.5 at Lincoln, 11.8 at River Trails, and 9.3 at Holmes. Low-income measures differ by year: Lincoln reports 5% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2021–2022, compared with 30% at River Trails and 63% at Holmes in 2024–2025. These figures provide context, not an explanation for school results.
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