Is Lincoln-Way Central High School a good school?

Yes! Lincoln-Way Central High School is one of the best high schools in the state. It ranks 31 st of 697 Illinois high schools.

How many students attend Lincoln-Way Central High School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 1,962 students attended Lincoln-Way Central High School.

What is the racial makeup of Lincoln-Way Central High School?

Students at Lincoln-Way Central High School are 82% White, 12% Hispanic, 2% African American, 2% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What schools feed into Lincoln-Way Central High School?

Lincoln-Way Central High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Anna McDonald Elementary School Elementary : Arnold J Tyler School Elementary : Spencer Pointe Elementary : Wilson Creek Elementary School Middle : Alex M Martino Junior High School Middle : Bentley Elementary School Middle : Manhattan Junior High School Middle : Spencer Crossing

Lincoln-Way Central High School

Summary:

Lincoln-Way Central High School is a public high school serving 1,962 students in grades 9-12 in New Lenox, Illinois, part of the highly-ranked Lincoln Way CHSD 210 district. This exemplary institution consistently ranks among the top high schools in Illinois, with a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger and a statewide ranking of 31 out of 697 high schools.

Lincoln-Way Central High School's academic performance is exceptional, with 49.7% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in SAT Mathematics and 55.9% proficient or better in SAT English Language Arts, significantly outperforming the state and district averages. The school's four-year graduation rate ranges from 95.2% to 96.5%, well above the state average, and its dropout rate is consistently low, ranging from 0.3% to 1.0%. Notably, the school excels in supporting the academic achievement of diverse student subgroups, including female students, male students, Asian students, African American students, Hispanic students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, all of whom rank among the top schools in Illinois for their respective subgroups.

Lincoln-Way Central High School's higher per-student spending and lower student-teacher ratio compared to nearby schools, such as Lincoln-Way East High School and Lincoln Way West, suggest a strategic allocation of resources to support student learning and well-being. This efficient use of resources, combined with the school's exceptional academic performance, makes it a standout among Illinois high schools and a model for other educational institutions to emulate.

Detail:

Public 9-12

1801 E Lincoln Hwy
New Lenox, IL 60451-3801

(815) 462-2172

District: Lincoln Way CHSD 210

SchoolDigger Rank:
31^st of 697 Illinois High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $16,152

Feeder schools for Lincoln-Way Central High School:

Elementary:	Anna McDonald Elementary School
	Arnold J Tyler School
	Spencer Pointe
	Wilson Creek Elementary School
Middle:	Alex M Martino Junior High School
	Bentley Elementary School
	Manhattan Junior High School
	Spencer Crossing

Student/teacher ratio: 14.4

Number of students: 1,962

Racial breakdown:

White:

81.6%

Hispanic:

12.2%

African American:

2.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 8.1%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare Lincoln-Way Central High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Lincoln-Way Central High School ranks better than 95.6% of high schools in Illinois. It also ranks 2^nd among 3 ranked high schools in the Lincoln Way CHSD 210 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 97.01. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Lincoln-Way Central High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Lincoln-Way Central High School has the largest high school student body size in the Lincoln Way CHSD 210 School District. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Lincoln-Way Central High School is $16,152, which is the highest among 3 high schools in the Lincoln Way CHSD 210 School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Lincoln-Way Central High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Lincoln-Way Central High School 31^st of 697 Illinois public high schools. (See Lincoln-Way Central High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Lincoln Way CHSD 210:

SchoolDigger ranks Lincoln Way CHSD 210 47^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Lincoln-Way Central High School

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Rank History for all students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	85.03	56^th	586	90.4%
2004	86.85	50^th	592	91.6%
2005	87.04	46^th	590	92.2%
2006	88.00	48^th	596	91.9%
2007	90.06	37^th	612	94.0%
2008	89.34	42^nd	624	93.3%
2009	89.77	42^nd	632	93.4%
2010	88.13	50^th	643	92.2%
2011	90.47	38^th	655	94.2%
2012	88.06	58^th	665	91.3%
2013	88.58	55^th	670	91.8%
2014	86.96	74^th	670	89.0%
2015	47.32	284^th	614	53.7%
2016	72.41	98^th	643	84.8%
2017	93.16	39^th	642	93.9%
2018	92.04	41^st	647	93.7%
2019	93.45	41^st	701	94.2%
2021	93.29	51^st	688	92.6%
2022	89.75	52^nd	699	92.6%
2023	92.51	43^rd	699	93.8%
2024	97.01	31^st	697	95.6%

See the entire list of Illinois High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	85.50	23^rd	154	85.1%
2021	31.77	103^rd	160	35.6%
2024	77.51	42^nd	182	76.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	89.78	26^th	374	93.0%
2019	64.55	86^th	473	81.8%
2021	52.14	138^th	453	69.5%
2022	60.59	98^th	493	80.1%
2023	49.24	168^th	476	64.7%
2024	89.36	52^nd	482	89.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	71.88	99^th	585	83.1%
2019	74.66	89^th	639	86.1%
2021	65.40	137^th	611	77.6%
2022	89.15	35^th	626	94.4%
2023	92.18	26^th	644	96.0%
2024	98.74	13^th	639	98.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	90.40	43^rd	620	93.1%
2019	92.76	39^th	665	94.1%
2021	91.46	56^th	639	91.2%
2022	84.65	80^th	658	87.8%
2023	90.35	52^nd	656	92.1%
2024	96.68	31^st	664	95.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	73.00	61^st	428	85.7%
2024	90.91	33^rd	429	92.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	91.43	39^th	619	93.7%
2019	92.17	48^th	675	92.9%
2021	92.45	56^th	653	91.4%
2022	92.05	46^th	664	93.1%
2023	92.71	41^st	668	93.9%
2024	95.97	39^th	668	94.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	75.57	37^th	137	73.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	99.97	2^nd	301	99.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	81.53	35^th	291	88.0%
2019	89.56	26^th	317	91.8%
2021	75.43	49^th	317	84.5%
2022	88.69	31^st	335	90.7%
2023	87.76	28^th	333	91.6%
2024	96.32	16^th	336	95.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Lincoln-Way Central High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	86.73	60^th	548	89.1%
2019	88.32	59^th	552	89.3%
2021	88.44	66^th	553	88.1%
2022	80.99	87^th	560	84.5%
2023	86.28	54^th	557	90.3%
2024	92.68	46^th	554	91.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 2.3)

33%

67%

Reviews:

by a parent
Friday, February 17, 2012

We recently moved to the area and I am so pleased that Lincoln-Way has something for every student. The staff works tirelessly to ensure that the students are growing into well-rounded and responsible adults. Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, February 12, 2009

I am sorry to say that this school is infested with racists and homophobics. I hope more parents take a second look at what is subconsciously being taught at Lincoln-way Central. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Lincoln-Way Central High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	2091	4	12	22	11	n/a	n/a	0	2140
1989	2023	4	13	26	10	n/a	n/a	0	2076
1990	1969	7	14	24	8	n/a	n/a	0	2022
1991	1995	8	20	39	5	n/a	n/a	0	2067
1992	2104	6	19	39	2	n/a	n/a	0	2170
1993	2205	8	15	40	3	n/a	n/a	0	2271
1994	2367	7	21	45	4	n/a	n/a	0	2444
1995	1731	12	17	33	1	n/a	n/a	0	1794
1996	1731	12	17	33	1	n/a	n/a	0	1794
1997	1872	13	19	42	1	n/a	n/a	0	1947
1998	1933	8	21	60	3	n/a	n/a	0	2025
1999	1983	9	32	68	8	n/a	n/a	0	2100
2000	2082	10	34	78	8	n/a	n/a	0	2212
2001	2173	14	31	73	11	n/a	n/a	0	2302
2002	2401	7	18	100	2	n/a	n/a	0	2528
2003	2401	7	18	100	2	n/a	n/a	0	2528
2004	2474	11	24	108	7	n/a	n/a	0	2624
2005	2567	20	21	129	7	n/a	n/a	4	2748
2006	2735	20	23	151	10	n/a	n/a	15	2954
2007	2775	24	24	173	7	n/a	n/a	23	3026
2008	2769	20	16	180	10	n/a	n/a	63	3058
2009	2839	25	17	171	9	n/a	n/a	64	3125
2010	2037	19	16	114	9	n/a	n/a	46	2241
2011	1758	16	8	97	3	1	72	0	1955
2012	1742	17	12	96	4	1	89	0	1961
2013	1692	20	12	86	5	1	100	0	1916
2014	1644	20	9	83	4	1	125	0	1886
2015	1626	19	10	74	3	0	137	0	1869
2016	1613	20	9	183	2	0	43	0	1870
2017	1861	23	26	196	3	0	48	0	2157
2018	1826	31	31	201	5	0	44	0	2138
2019	1758	30	29	194	6	0	42	0	2059
2020	1686	32	31	187	4	0	29	0	1969
2021	1666	32	37	220	1	0	37	0	1993
2022	1614	35	35	237	0	0	41	0	1962
2023	1601	45	31	239	2	1	43	0	1962

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Lincoln-Way Central High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	2140	114.4	18.7	n/a
1989	2076	110.4	18.8	n/a
1990	2022	111.4	18.1	n/a
1991	2067	116.9	17.6	n/a
1992	2170	125.6	17.2	n/a
1993	2271	123.4	18.4	n/a
1994	2444	126.2	19.4	n/a
1995	1794	94.4	19.0	n/a
1996	1794	94.4	19.0	n/a
1997	1947	103.9	18.7	n/a
1998	2025	107.0	18.9	n/a
1999	2100	102.3	20.5	n/a
2000	2212	110.2	20.1	n/a
2001	2302	114.3	20.1	n/a
2002	2528	135.6	18.6	2.5
2003	2528	135.6	18.6	2.5
2004	2624	134.6	19.5	2.8
2005	2748	142.7	19.3	3.5
2006	2954	128.2	23.0	4.4
2007	3026	169.0	17.9	4.7
2008	3058	155.0	19.7	4.8
2009	3125	185.0	16.9	5.6
2010	2241	149.3	15.0	7.7
2011	1955	119.3	16.3	10.8
2012	1961	120.0	16.3	14
2013	1916	134.9	14.2	13.4
2014	1886	116.9	16.1	5.7
2015	1869	112.0	16.6	10.8
2016	1870	110.0	17.0	10.2
2017	2157	136.6	15.7	10.9
2018	2138	139.2	15.3	7.5
2019	2059	133.5	15.4	7.5
2020	1969	132.6	14.8	7.9
2021	1993	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1962	137.4	14.2	8.1
2023	1962	135.3	14.4	n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Lincoln-Way Central High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	2140	114.4	18.7	n/a
1989	2076	110.4	18.8	n/a
1990	2022	111.4	18.1	n/a
1991	2067	116.9	17.6	n/a
1992	2170	125.6	17.2	n/a
1993	2271	123.4	18.4	n/a
1994	2444	126.2	19.4	n/a
1995	1794	94.4	19.0	n/a
1996	1794	94.4	19.0	n/a
1997	1947	103.9	18.7	n/a
1998	2025	107.0	18.9	n/a
1999	2100	102.3	20.5	n/a
2000	2212	110.2	20.1	n/a
2001	2302	114.3	20.1	n/a
2002	2528	135.6	18.6	2.5
2003	2528	135.6	18.6	2.5
2004	2624	134.6	19.5	2.8
2005	2748	142.7	19.3	3.5
2006	2954	128.2	23.0	4.4
2007	3026	169.0	17.9	4.7
2008	3058	155.0	19.7	4.8
2009	3125	185.0	16.9	5.6
2010	2241	149.3	15.0	7.7
2011	1955	119.3	16.3	10.8
2012	1961	120.0	16.3	14
2013	1916	134.9	14.2	13.4
2014	1886	116.9	16.1	5.7
2015	1869	112.0	16.6	10.8
2016	1870	110.0	17.0	10.2
2017	2157	136.6	15.7	10.9
2018	2138	139.2	15.3	7.5
2019	2059	133.5	15.4	7.5
2020	1969	132.6	14.8	7.9
2021	1993	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1962	137.4	14.2	8.1
2023	1962	135.3	14.4	n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Immunization Rates