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What's one thing Lincoln High School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,364
High
DISTRICT 1,512 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DES MOINES INDEPENDENT COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190897000550
Lincoln High School
2600 SW 9th St, Des Moines, IA 50315 · (515) 242-7500 · Polk County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,364 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
25.2:1
94 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.0:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
1,770 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 41%
Community
4
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 552 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 569 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 571 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 672 | 28% |
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 48% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
48.5%
IA avg 73.6% . +3.2pp since 2023
Math
40.2%
IA avg 70.9% . +4.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 40 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 48.5% | 40.2% |
| 2023-24 | 45.3% | 35.3% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
41.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.5%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 54% typical for Iowa schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Lincoln High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa | In Polk County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.1% | #309 of 313 | #16 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.2% | #309 of 314 | #16 of 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 48.5% | #309 of 314 | #16 of 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,364 | #1 of 340 | #1 of 20 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 25.2:1 | #257 of 259 | #17 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.2% | #3 of 260 | #3 of 18 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.6% | #132 of 133 | #13 of 13 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
2,364
+14 (+1%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
25.2:1
was 23.1:1
% White
30%
was 49%
% Hispanic
38%
was 25%
% Black
17%
was 12%
% Asian
8%
was 9%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2,364 | 93.9 | 25.2:1 | 75% (1,770) |
| 2023-24 | 2,441 | 89.5 | 27.3:1 | 66% (1,618) |
| 2022-23 | 2,403 | 90.7 | 26.5:1 | 76% (1,819) |
| 2017-18 | 2,350 | 101.7 | 23.1:1 | 71% (1,674) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Lincoln High School.
About Lincoln High School
Lincoln High School is a public high school in Des Moines, Iowa. The student body numbers 2,364 students, from grades 9 through 12. Average enrollment for high schools in Iowa is about 468, so this school runs 405% above that.
Lincoln High School is a school in Des Moines Independent Comm School District. The district has 59 schools and 29,676 students.
Lincoln High School has no majority group; Hispanic students are the largest, at 38%. Beyond that, enrollment is 30% White, 17% Black, 8% Asian, and 6% multiracial. In Polk County overall, about 10% of residents are Hispanic. Pick two students at random and there is a 72% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teachers at Lincoln High School total 93.9 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 25.2:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. The school counts 1,770 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 75%. It compares with 49% for public schools in Polk County.
Lincoln High School trails its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests by 13.4 points (41.1% versus 54.5%), a bottom-10% result in Iowa on BeatsExpectations.
Polk County has about 503,175 residents, and the median household income is $83,576, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 40%, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Lincoln High School, Polk County has 136 other public schools.
Park Ave Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles away. Within five miles of Lincoln High School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Its average proficiency rate of 41.1% is below the 48.7% average for nearby schools.
Lincoln High School falls in the City: Mid-size locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The student count changed little between 2017-18 (2,350) and 2024-25 (2,364). The White share of enrollment fell from 49% to 30% over the same period. Federal data show the ratio rising from 23.1:1 to 25.2:1.
Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Polk County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
503,175
Census ACS
Median income
$83,576
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
137
77,436 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Des Moines Independent Comm School District
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
- McCombs Middle SchoolMiddle · 670 students
Other schools in Des Moines
- Roosevelt High SchoolHigh · 2,051 students
- East High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- North High SchoolHigh · 1,428 students
- Hoover High SchoolHigh · 898 students
- Weeks Middle SchoolMiddle · 688 students
- McCombs Middle SchoolMiddle · 670 students
Nearby schools
- Park Ave Elementary School0.4 mi · 380
- Howe Elementary1.2 mi · 297
- South Union Elementary School1.3 mi · 422
- McKinley Elementary School1.3 mi · 275
- Brody Middle School1.4 mi · 641
- Weeks Middle School1.5 mi · 688
Frequently asked questions
About Lincoln High SchoolHow many students attend Lincoln High School?
Lincoln High School enrolls approximately 2,364 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Lincoln High School serve?
Lincoln High School serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Lincoln High School have?
Lincoln High School employs 94 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 25.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Lincoln High School?
Student demographics at Lincoln High School are roughly 30% White, 38% Hispanic, 17% Black, 8% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Lincoln High School public or private?
Lincoln High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Des Moines Independent Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.