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East Lincoln High

Q: Is East Lincoln High a good school?

East Lincoln High ranks 221 st of 662 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

221^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 662 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 67% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

East Lincoln High is a public high school in Denver, NC, serving approximately 1,047 students in grades 9–12 as part of Lincoln County Schools, a 4-star district. Overall, East Lincoln is a solid, above-average school: it ranks in the 67th percentile statewide (221st of 662) with a 3-star rating, and it exceeds North Carolina state averages on all four End-of-Course tests. Its graduation rate of 93.7% beats both the district's 92.1% and the state's 88.8%. Over the past decade, the school has been a consistently mid-to-upper-tier performer, though its ranking has fluctuated from a peak of 102nd in 2015–2016 to a post-pandemic low of 248th in 2021–2022.

The most striking strength at East Lincoln is attendance. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 10.1% is less than half the state average of 24.2% and well below the district average of 17.2% — and it has fallen dramatically from 23.4% two years earlier. The school also shines in early math: 68.3% of students scored proficient on Math I, far above the state's 42.1%, and outperforming more affluent neighbors like Lake Norman High and William Amos Hough High. Another differentiator is special education support: East Lincoln ranked in the 87th percentile statewide for students receiving special education services in 2025–2026, an area where many schools struggle. Graduation rates have now topped the state average for five straight years.

Comparisons with nearby schools are largely favorable. East Lincoln outperforms high-poverty schools like North Gaston High and Hopewell High School by wide margins in every subject while also posting far lower absenteeism. But the story is more complex relative to North Lincoln High, the district's other traditional high school: East Lincoln beat North Lincoln on all four EOC tests in 2024–2025, yet North Lincoln flipped that result in 2025–2026 — a reminder that one-year rankings can shift with each cohort. Areas to watch include English II, where East Lincoln's 68.8% proficiency trails William Amos Hough High's 86.8%, and Math III, which dipped below the district average in the latest year. Overall, East Lincoln delivers strong results given its moderate poverty rate and lower per-pupil spending, with standout attendance and excellent outcomes for students with disabilities.

1,047

Students ?

19.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$7,000

Per pupil spending ?

31.8%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

6471 Hwy 73
Denver, NC 28037-9527

(704) 736-1860

District: Lincoln County Schools

Feeder schools for East Lincoln High:

Elementary:	Catawba Springs Elementary
	Iron Station Elementary
	St James Elementary
Middle:	East Lincoln Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

72.4%

Hispanic:

11.2%

African American:

8.0%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare East Lincoln High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 80th percentile in 2016 → 67th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (71% vs 60% meeting standards)

✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the North Carolina average (89%)

✓Above the North Carolina median (67th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school71%

District avg67%

North Carolina avg60%

221^st of 662

North Carolina public high schools ?

Top 33%▼ down 13 pts since 2016

From top 20% (2016) to top 33% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4High Schools in the Lincoln County Schools

75^th of 246Lincoln County Schools among North Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	65.3	221 of 662	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	72.3	169 of 641	73.6%	★★★★☆
2024	65.2	202 of 640	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	63.7	204 of 626	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.8	248 of 621	60.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	70.1	152 of 594	74.4%	★★★★☆
2019	59.3	149 of 514	71.0%	★★★★☆
2018	64.1	125 of 469	73.3%	★★★★☆
2017	57.9	142 of 476	70.2%	★★★★☆
2016	61.0	102 of 507	79.9%	★★★★☆
2015	54.3	142 of 531	73.3%	★★★★☆
2014	52.9	137 of 451	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2013	48.0	160 of 505	68.3%	★★★☆☆
2012	54.6	185 of 502	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2011	57.0	213 of 506	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.3	235 of 499	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2009	58.2	191 of 490	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2008	56.4	189 of 477	60.4%	★★★☆☆
2007	59.2	149 of 453	67.1%	★★★☆☆
2006	54.3	199 of 431	53.8%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	51.3	188 of 450	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	64.7	109 of 440	75.2%	★★★★☆
2024	51.5	152 of 437	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.6	149 of 434	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.9	168 of 430	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	33.7	204 of 364	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.3	248 of 369	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	42.9	175 of 359	51.3%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	43.2	150 of 330	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	60.9	72 of 334	78.4%	★★★★☆
2019	62.6	79 of 364	78.3%	★★★★☆
2018	41.3	174 of 349	50.1%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	26.1	183 of 226	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	68.3	188 of 629	70.1%	★★★★☆
2025	75.7	138 of 610	77.4%	★★★★☆
2024	67.3	190 of 602	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	67.2	182 of 588	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.2	234 of 594	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	64.4	112 of 475	76.4%	★★★★☆
2019	60.0	139 of 475	70.7%	★★★★☆
2018	64.9	124 of 449	72.4%	★★★★☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	56.6	236 of 407	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	71.3	130 of 412	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	66.5	139 of 403	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	78.9	64 of 403	84.1%	★★★★☆
2022	58.4	200 of 398	49.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	71.2	77 of 337	77.2%	★★★★☆
2019	68.5	79 of 325	75.7%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	69.2	118 of 474	75.1%	★★★★☆
2025	70.7	113 of 462	75.5%	★★★★☆
2024	82.5	74 of 454	83.7%	★★★★☆
2023	45.8	215 of 449	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	54.4	150 of 436	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	64.6	52 of 370	85.9%	★★★★☆
2019	55.8	89 of 354	74.9%	★★★★☆
2018	43.2	169 of 340	50.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	55.7	229 of 620	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	61.5	183 of 606	69.8%	★★★★☆
2024	55.2	214 of 613	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.7	279 of 597	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.7	230 of 544	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	58.0	76 of 432	82.4%	★★★★☆
2019	38.7	224 of 446	49.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.4	143 of 424	66.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	60.5	231 of 624	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	68.0	173 of 601	71.2%	★★★★☆
2024	61.9	208 of 607	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.5	223 of 602	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.3	228 of 585	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	73.9	59 of 481	87.7%	★★★★☆
2019	56.6	153 of 488	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.9	147 of 463	68.3%	★★★☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	13.4	65 of 70	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	58.5	93 of 265	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	41.8	161 of 253	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	73.5	53 of 261	79.7%	★★★★☆
2023	51.2	111 of 249	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.2	123 of 226	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	52.7	87 of 199	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	21.1	167 of 195	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	77.7	35 of 185	81.1%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	68.9	50 of 372	86.6%	★★★★☆
2025	64.2	64 of 352	81.8%	★★★★☆
2024	63.7	71 of 349	79.7%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	56.3	252 of 551	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	68.1	184 of 542	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.5	260 of 553	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	57.6	221 of 537	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.9	262 of 534	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	65.1	106 of 439	75.9%	★★★★☆
2019	49.9	189 of 444	57.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	48.0	212 of 427	50.4%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2026)87th percentile+20 vs school

Hispanic (2026)75th percentile+8 vs school

Female (2026)70th percentile+3 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)65th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)63rd percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)63rd percentile-4 vs school

African American (2026)58th percentile-8 vs school

Disabled (2022)55th percentile-6 vs school

White (2026)54th percentile-12 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)42nd percentile-25 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)19th percentile-48 vs school

Military Connected (2026)7th percentile-59 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Math III75%+6 vs state

Biology69%+11 vs state

English II69%+4 vs state

Math I68%+26 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, August 23, 2017

This school has caused my kids to turn to drugs and alcohol due to all the bullying they received and I would highly recommend you not go to this school I talked to other parents about the drug abuse that goes on in East and they said that it is a thing the administration should look at instead of just focusing there funds into less important things Close Quote

Schools Near East Lincoln High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
East Lincoln High	Public	9-12	6471 Hwy 73	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1860	1,047	55	19.0	31.8%	758 (72.4%)	84 (8.0%)	117 (11.2%)	18 (1.7%)	6 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (6.1%)	65.3	221^st of 662 public high schools	66.6%		72.3	169^th of 641 public high schools	73.6%	52	69.2	68.8	68.3	75.4	$7,000	$484	$6,516
North Lincoln High	Public	9-12	2737 Lee Lawing Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1969	1,126	52	21.5	25.3%	921 (81.8%)	30 (2.7%)	120 (10.7%)	9 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (4.1%)	77.8	151^st of 662 public high schools	77.2%		59.6	228^th of 641 public high schools	64.4%	77	73.2	79.2	76.5	87.7	$7,071	$386	$6,685
Hopewell High School	Public, Magnet	9-12	11530 Beatties Ford Rd	Huntersville	28078	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(980) 343-5988	1,851	97	19.0	—	437 (23.6%)	887 (47.9%)	374 (20.2%)	54 (2.9%)	3 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	95 (5.1%)	49.2	337^th of 662 public high schools	49.1%		42.5	357^th of 641 public high schools	44.3%	20	55.1	65.1	46.2	72.0	$8,867	$413	$8,454
Aspire Trade High	Public, Charter	9-12	7125 Hambright Rd	Huntersville	28078	Mecklenburg County	Aspire Trade High School	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(980) 399-7554	270	14	19.7	47.8%	58 (21.5%)	100 (37.0%)	84 (31.1%)	4 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (8.9%)	7.6	615^th of 662 public high schools	7.1%					(n/a)	25.3	33.0	12.2
East Gaston High	Public	9-12	1744 Lane Road	Mount Holly	28120	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 836-9613	917	49	18.5	—	563 (61.4%)	117 (12.8%)	181 (19.7%)	9 (1.0%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	44 (4.8%)	42.2	388^th of 662 public high schools	41.4%		34.5	417^th of 641 public high schools	34.9%	29	53.6	60.5	53.8	55.0	$10,078	$870	$9,208
Asbury Academy	Public	6-12	221 Salem Church Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-4766	34	9	3.7	91.2%	23 (67.6%)	4 (11.8%)	1 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (17.6%)								(n/a)	341.9				$21,466	$469	$20,997
William Amos Hough High	Public	9-12	12420 Bailey Rd	Cornelius	28031	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	No	(980) 344-0514	2,518	119	21.1	20.1%	1,628 (64.7%)	299 (11.9%)	375 (14.9%)	117 (4.6%)	4 (0.2%)	9 (0.4%)	86 (3.4%)	82.1	129^th of 662 public high schools	80.5%		81.3	130^th of 641 public high schools	79.7%	1	81.8	86.8	61.6	90.9	$7,994	$484	$7,511
Merancas Middle College-CPCC	Public	11-12	12010 Verhoeff Dr	Huntersville	28078	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	No	(980) 343-0035	176	5	35.2	32.4%	35 (19.9%)	83 (47.2%)	25 (14.2%)	23 (13.1%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (5.1%)								(n/a)				83.3	$7,253	$339	$6,914
North Gaston High	Public	9-12	1133 Ratchford Road	Dallas	28034	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 922-5285	1,061	62	17.2	—	468 (44.1%)	286 (27.0%)	226 (21.3%)	12 (1.1%)	3 (0.3%)	3 (0.3%)	63 (5.9%)	25.3	519^th of 662 public high schools	21.6%		22.8	508^th of 641 public high schools	20.7%	11	44.7	43.4	32.0	59.2	$8,686	$748	$7,938
Lake Norman High	Public	9-12	186 Doolie Road	Mooresville	28117	Iredell County	Iredell-Statesville Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 799-8555	1,905	84	22.7	19.8%	1,358 (71.3%)	132 (6.9%)	230 (12.1%)	78 (4.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	106 (5.6%)	63.4	230^th of 662 public high schools	65.3%		69.1	182^nd of 641 public high schools	71.6%	48	67.9	71.4	56.9	76.1	$6,712	$326	$6,386

Frequently Asked Questions about East Lincoln High

What district is East Lincoln High in?

Lincoln County Schools

What schools feed into East Lincoln High?

East Lincoln High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Catawba Springs Elementary
Elementary : Iron Station Elementary
Elementary : St James Elementary
Middle : East Lincoln Middle

Is East Lincoln High a good school?

East Lincoln High ranks 221^st of 662 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of East Lincoln High?

Students at East Lincoln High are 72% White, 11% Hispanic, 8% African American, 6% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

How many students attend East Lincoln High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,047 students attended East Lincoln High.

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2025–26 graduation rates (updated)NewNov 2, 2026

2020–21 through 2025–26 immunization ratesOct 19, 2026

2022–23 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

2017–18 through 2024–25 attendance dataSep 2, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

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.