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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 62656


At a glance
9
Schools
2,268
Students
6
Districts
Top rankedChester-East Lincoln Elementary School487th of 1,737 Illinois elementary schools
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Biggest riser
West Lincoln-Broadwell Elementary School up 286 spots statewide this year
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Smallest classes
West Lincoln-Broadwell Elementary School 10.4 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
4★
3★
2★
1★
2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

ZIP code 62656 has seven schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12: five elementary schools, one junior high and one high school, with 2,268 students altogether. Results vary widely across the elementary schools: among the four serving K–5, 2025–26 All Grades ELA ranged from 39% to 74%, a 36-point spread, and math ranged from 28% to 60%, a 32-point spread. The most important takeaway is that an area-wide picture hides substantial differences between individual schools.

Chester-East Lincoln Elementary School had the highest elementary All Grades ELA result, 76%, or 19 points above the 56% state rate; its math result was 54%, 14 points above the state. Among the K–5 schools, Central Elementary School led in both ELA, at 63%, and math, at 60%—21 points above the 40% state math rate. West Lincoln-Broadwell Elementary School also posted strong results: 74% in ELA and 51% in math. At the other end, Washington-Monroe Elementary School scored 39% in ELA and 28% in math, 18 and 11 points below state rates. At the high school, Lincoln Community High School’s 11th-grade ACT math proficiency was 26%, compared with 40% statewide.

Recent results show the K–5 group losing ground relative to the state, especially in math: its average math advantage narrowed from 10 points in 2024–25 to 3 points in 2025–26, while its ELA advantage narrowed from 5 points to 1. Individual schools diverged: Northwest Elementary School’s math result fell 13 points, while Chester-East Lincoln’s rose 5 points. SchoolDigger’s 2025–26 rankings place Chester-East Lincoln 487th of 1,737 schools (72nd percentile, 4 stars) and West Lincoln-Broadwell 517th (70th percentile, 4 stars); its three-year percentile history also shows West up 17 points, while Lincoln Community High fell 36. For context, the schools’ reported free/reduced lunch eligible measures for sy 2024–25 ranged from 23% at West Lincoln-Broadwell to 75% at Northwest; their student-teacher ratios ranged from 10.4 to 13.7, but these figures do not explain differences in scores.

Ranking:
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E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




Cities Near Zip Code 62656

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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