Summary
Lincoln High School is a public Tacoma, Washington, school serving about 1,556 students in grades 9–12 through the Tacoma School District. It is a large, high-need comprehensive high school, with 72.69% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s statewide ranking is low—339th of 396 Washington high schools, or the 14th percentile—but this is an improvement from recent years.
One of Lincoln’s clearest strengths is helping students graduate. Its 2024–25 graduation rate was 91.6%, slightly above the district’s 91.4% and well above Washington’s 82.6%. Its dropout rate was 6.4%, below the state rate of 9.8% and less than half its 2019–20 rate of 18.5%. However, academic test results are a major concern. In 2025–26, proficiency was 41.06% in English language arts, 10.49% in math, and 32.65% in science. Math is the most urgent weakness, with results far below both district and state averages. Science has improved over time, but English and math remain persistently low.
Compared with nearby traditional high schools, Lincoln serves more students and a larger share of students facing economic challenges. Industrial Design Engineering and Arts enrolls 392 students and had stronger 2025–26 results in every tested subject, while Tacoma School of the Arts enrolls 658 students, posted a 96.9% graduation rate, and performed better in English and science, though its math result was lower than Lincoln’s. Lincoln’s student-teacher ratio of 20.5 is also somewhat higher than at these two schools. Overall, the school shows encouraging graduation and dropout trends, but families should pay close attention to academic support—especially in math, science, English, special education, and services for students from low-income households.
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