Best Public Schools in Zip Code 97205

ZIP code 97205 is home to exactly one public school: Lincoln High School, a grade 9–12 high school serving 1,611 students in Portland School District 1J. Because there are no other elementary, middle, or alternative schools in this ZIP code, there are no in-neighborhood comparisons to make — the useful comparisons are against the district and the state as a whole. The district itself is ranked 12th of 141 Oregon districts, in the 91st percentile with 5 stars.

Lincoln is a top-decile Oregon high school. It ranks 28th out of 271 Oregon schools in 2025–2026 (90th percentile, 5 stars), after ranking 15th of 270 in 2024–2025 and 19th of 268 in 2023–2024. Science is its standout strength: 62.8% of students met proficiency, compared with 45.1% in the district and 30.6% statewide. Eleventh-grade performance is strong across the board — ELA is 57% versus 52% in the district and 46% statewide, and math is 46.7% versus 36.5% in the district and 22.9% statewide. Notably, the school's all-grades figures match its 11th-grade figures exactly in every subject, which suggests testing at this high school is effectively reported at the 11th-grade level, making the 11th-grade comparisons the most apples-to-apples ones. Against all-grade district averages, Lincoln looks slightly below the district in ELA and math, but that is because those district figures include lower grade levels — at 11th grade, Lincoln outperforms the district in all three subjects.

Graduation outcomes are strong: 88.9% in 2024–2025, about six points above both the district (82.5%) and the state (83.0%). Chronic absenteeism is the tension point — 34.2% of students were chronically absent, slightly above the district's 32.5% and the state's 33.5%, meaning roughly one in three students missed significant school time despite strong results. Context: 41.96% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, per-student spending is $22,105, and the student-teacher ratio is 19.6:1. Lincoln's rank slipped from 15th to 28th this year, but it remains a 5-star, top-decile school worth monitoring.