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.
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