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Lincoln Elementary - 05

Q: Is Lincoln Elementary - 05 a good school?

Lincoln Elementary - 05 ranks 157 th of 300 South Dakota elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 1-4

157^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 300 South Dakota Elementary Schools

Better than 48% of South Dakota elementary schools

Summary

Lincoln Elementary - 05 is a public elementary school located in Watertown, South Dakota, serving grades PK-4 with a total enrollment of 338 students. This high-performing school consistently ranks among the top 30 elementary schools in the state, with impressive academic achievement that surpasses both district and state averages.

Lincoln Elementary - 05 has maintained a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger for several years, indicating its strong academic performance compared to other schools in Watertown School District 14-4. The school's students have shown proficiency rates of 71.54% and 75.92% in English Language Arts and Mathematics, respectively, significantly higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, Lincoln Elementary - 05 outperforms nearby schools, such as Roosevelt Elementary - 08 and McKinley Elementary - 06, in both subject areas.

While Lincoln Elementary - 05 has shown impressive performance for its male and white student subgroups, ranking in the top 10 in the state, the school's performance for its Hispanic, Native American, and low socioeconomic status student subgroups is not as strong, with rankings in the bottom half or bottom third of the state. Additionally, the school has seen an increase in chronic absenteeism rates over the past few years, reaching 20.2% in 2024-2025, though still lower than the district and state averages. The relatively high spending per student at Lincoln Elementary - 05, at $10,766 per student in 2023-2024, may be a contributing factor to the school's strong academic performance.

361

Students ?

14.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,908

Per pupil spending ?

37.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1100 13th St NE
Watertown, SD 57201

(605) 882-6340

District: Watertown School District 14-4

Students who attend Lincoln Elementary - 05 usually attend:

Middle:	Watertown Intermediate School - 13
	Watertown Middle School - 02
High:	Watertown High School - 01

Racial breakdown:

White:

75.3%

Hispanic:

13.9%

Two or more races:

5.5%

See top rated South Dakota elementary schools

Compare Lincoln Elementary - 05 to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 86th percentile in 2015 → 48th in 2025

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 38 percentile points since 2015

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school48%

District avg52%

South Dakota avg47%

157^th of 300

South Dakota public elementary schools ?

Bottom 48%▼ down 38 pts since 2015

From top 14% (2015) to bottom 48% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Dakota Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4Elementary Schools in the Watertown School District 14-4

99^th of 147Watertown School District 14-4 among South Dakota 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	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	53.0	157 of 300	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	84.2	19 of 201	90.5%	★★★★★
2023	88.2	9 of 204	95.6%	★★★★★
2022	92.3	6 of 202	97.0%	★★★★★
2021	87.1	13 of 202	93.6%	★★★★★
2019	83.6	17 of 206	91.7%	★★★★★
2018	84.1	12 of 204	94.1%	★★★★★
2017	82.0	23 of 207	88.9%	★★★★☆
2016	88.4	6 of 206	97.1%	★★★★★
2015	78.0	30 of 209	85.6%	★★★★☆
2013	77.6	24 of 201	88.1%	★★★★☆
2012	79.5	22 of 214	89.7%	★★★★★
2011	84.2	4 of 205	98.0%	★★★★★
2010	78.0	27 of 206	86.9%	★★★★☆
2009	78.7	15 of 196	92.3%	★★★★★
2008	74.7	24 of 194	87.6%	★★★★☆
2007	72.8	34 of 194	82.5%	★★★★☆
2006	72.5	35 of 197	82.2%	★★★★☆
2005	70.3	44 of 194	77.3%	★★★★☆
2004	66.0	65 of 189	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2003	68.3	47 of 187	74.9%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	48.8	70 of 176	60.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	43.6	178 of 291	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	79.3	23 of 165	86.1%	★★★★☆
2023	83.9	11 of 154	92.9%	★★★★★
2022	92.9	4 of 150	97.3%	★★★★★
2021	91.9	5 of 151	96.7%	★★★★★
2019	78.7	16 of 155	89.7%	★★★★★
2018	84.5	12 of 163	92.6%	★★★★★

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	45.8	26 of 61	57.4%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	36.6	101 of 163	38.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	35.0	169 of 237	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	57.8	30 of 110	72.7%	★★★★☆
2022	96.2	3 of 80	96.3%	★★★★★
2021	93.5	4 of 106	96.2%	★★★★★
2019	68.4	24 of 121	80.2%	★★★★☆
2018	79.3	13 of 121	89.3%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	59.0	120 of 292	58.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	86.3	9 of 161	94.4%	★★★★★
2023	89.1	10 of 166	94.0%	★★★★★
2022	90.0	9 of 154	94.2%	★★★★★
2021	80.4	20 of 157	87.3%	★★★★☆
2019	85.5	14 of 160	91.3%	★★★★★
2018	84.8	11 of 170	93.5%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	45.5	88 of 165	46.7%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	31.4	115 of 152	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	42.2	139 of 248	44.0%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Dakota percentile	Rating
2025	54.5	144 of 287	49.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	86.8	10 of 184	94.6%	★★★★★
2023	89.0	7 of 185	96.2%	★★★★★
2022	92.2	4 of 184	97.8%	★★★★★
2021	84.4	14 of 185	92.4%	★★★★★
2019	82.5	13 of 191	93.2%	★★★★★
2018	81.9	12 of 186	93.5%	★★★★★

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)

English Language Learner (2025)60th percentile+13 vs school

Male (2025)59th percentile+11 vs school

Foster Care (2025)57th percentile+10 vs school

White (2025)50th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)47th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)44th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2025)39th percentile-9 vs school

Hispanic (2025)38th percentile-10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile-19 vs school

Native American (2025)24th percentile-23 vs school

By subject vs South Dakota (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics53%+9 vs state

English Language Arts43%-8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Lincoln Elementary - 05

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Science (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Lincoln Elementary - 05	Public	1-4	1100 13th St NE	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6340	361	24	14.8	37.1%	272 (75.3%)	1 (0.3%)	50 (13.9%)	5 (1.4%)	13 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.5%)	53	157^th of 300 public elementary schools	47.7%		84.2	19^th of 201 public elementary schools	90.5%	138	44.0	41.5					42.7	58.2	47.9					53.0				$11,908	$962	$10,946
Jefferson Elementary - 09	Public	1-4	1701 N Maple St	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 882-6390	333	23	14.2	32.7%	278 (83.5%)	1 (0.3%)	14 (4.2%)	2 (0.6%)	19 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.7%)	59	130^th of 300 public elementary schools	56.7%		77.7	31^st of 201 public elementary schools	84.6%	99	49.4	48.7					49.1	49.4	62.2					55.3				$11,854	$908	$10,947
Mellette Elementary - 07	Public	1-4	619 2nd St NW	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 882-6385	267	20	13.6	47.6%	192 (71.9%)	3 (1.1%)	20 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (13.1%)	45.1	183^rd of 300 public elementary schools	39.0%		39.4	131^st of 201 public elementary schools	34.8%	52	40.9	32.5					36.4	51.5	45.5					48.3				$11,594	$1,010	$10,584
McKinley Early Childhood Center - 06	Public	PK-K	5 12th St SW	Watertown	57201	Codington County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 882-6350	296	22	13.7	38.2%	229 (77.4%)	2 (0.7%)	32 (10.8%)	5 (1.7%)	10 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.1%)								(n/a)
Waverly-South Shore Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	319 Mary Pl	Waverly	57201	Codington County	Waverly School District 14-5	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 886-9174	128	11	11.4	50.8%	105 (82.0%)	1 (0.8%)	4 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (6.3%)	34.2	217^th of 300 public elementary schools	27.7%		26.2	162^nd of 201 public elementary schools	19.4%	55	23.5	31.6	34.6				30.7	29.4	31.6	26.9				29.0	38.5			$15,192	$484	$14,708
Castlewood Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	310 E Harry St	Castlewood	57223	Hamlin County	Castlewood School District 28-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 793-2497	140	11	13.0	26.4%	131 (93.6%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	80.9	28^th of 300 public elementary schools	90.7%		55.4	95^th of 201 public elementary schools	52.7%	67	66.7	70.6	64.0				66.7	76.2	70.6	72.0				73.0	48.0			$13,151	$664	$12,487
Florence Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	515 Main Ave	Florence	57235	Codington County	Florence School District 14-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 758-2412	179	11	16.1	32.4%	172 (96.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	54.3	147^th of 300 public elementary schools	51.0%		27.8	157^th of 201 public elementary schools	21.9%	10	46.2	48.2	50.0				48.1	61.5	44.5	37.5				48.1	33.3			$12,574	$716	$11,858
Claremont Colony Elementary - 04	Public	K-8	46271 184th St	Castlewood	57223	Hamlin County	Castlewood School District 28-1	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	No	(605) 793-2497	17	1	17.0		17 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4.6	300^th of 300 public elementary schools	0.0%					(n/a)	0.0	0.0		0.0	100.0	0.0	10.0	0.0	0.0		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0		0.0
Henry Elementary - 02	Public	PK, KG-5	111 N Cedar	Henry	57243	Codington County	Henry School District 14-2	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	Yes	(605) 532-5364	93	10	9.5	49.5%	87 (93.5%)	5 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33.5	220^th of 300 public elementary schools	26.7%		26.9	158^th of 201 public elementary schools	21.4%	62	35.3	40.0	28.6				34.8	41.2	40.0	0.0				28.3	28.6			$14,113	$611	$13,502
Sunrise Colony - 15	Public	K-8	45425 152nd St	Summit	57266	Grant County	Watertown School District 14-4	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(605) 882-6340	20	2	10.0		20 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10.3	277^th of 300 public elementary schools	7.7%					(n/a)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0		50.0	10.0	0.0	33.3	0.0	0.0		0.0	10.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

Frequently Asked Questions about Lincoln Elementary - 05

How many students attend Lincoln Elementary - 05?

In the 2024-25 school year, 361 students attended Lincoln Elementary - 05.

What is the racial makeup of Lincoln Elementary - 05?

Students at Lincoln Elementary - 05 are 75% White, 14% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 4% American Indian, 1% Asian.

Is Lincoln Elementary - 05 a good school?

Lincoln Elementary - 05 ranks 157^th of 300 South Dakota elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Lincoln Elementary - 05 attend?

Students who attend Lincoln Elementary - 05 usually go on to attend:

Middle : Watertown Intermediate School - 13
Middle : Watertown Middle School - 02
High : Watertown High School - 01

What district is Lincoln Elementary - 05 in?

Watertown School District 14-4

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Dakota Department 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.