Summary:
ZIP code 60451 has two public high schools, Lincoln Way West and Lincoln-Way Central High School, both serving grades 9–12 in Lincoln Way CHSD 210. The clearest shared strength is that both schools scored above the state in all nine measured subject-and-grade comparisons for 2025–2026; their average advantage across those assessments was 19 percentage points.
Lincoln-Way Central leads in six of the nine comparisons, including all three grade 11 ACT subjects and all three grade 9 PreACT subjects. Its widest lead is in grade 9 science: 67% proficient, compared with 56% at Lincoln Way West, an 11-point gap. West’s standout results are grade 10 PreACT English and math, where it leads Central by 4 and 7 points, respectively. Both schools report a 98% graduation rate. SchoolDigger gives each five stars; its 2025–2026 statewide rankings are 46th of 620 for Central and 61st of 620 for West.
Recent test-score changes are mixed rather than showing a clear upward trend: across both schools’ 18 matched results, scores rose by only 2 points in total from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while the average state advantage widened by less than a point. West’s largest decline was grade 9 science, down 11 points to 56%; Central’s grade 9 science score rose 4 points to 67%. Central also reports a lower student-teacher ratio—15.1 versus West’s 18.0—and higher per-student spending, $17,444 versus $15,492, both for 2024–2025. Their free/reduced lunch eligible shares were similar in 2021–2022: 8.1% at Central and 8.3% at West. These figures provide context, not an explanation for test results; West’s grade 10 leads show that the schools’ relative strengths vary by grade and subject.
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