Enrollment
277
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 174231004256
Lincoln Elem School — Sterling, IL
Federal NCES profile for Lincoln Elem School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 45
📋 Attendance 68
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Sterling Cusd 5 · Illinois
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
22.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 14.6:1 Illinois avg
+9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lincoln Elem School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Lincoln Elem School reports 277 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 22.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% above the Illinois state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 0% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Counselor coverage works out to roughly 277 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sterling Cusd 5 spends $15,378 per pupil district-wide, below the Illinois average of $20,099 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 44.5% from local sources (property taxes), 42.1% from the state, and 13.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Lincoln Elem School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Illinois state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.9:1 | ▲ 9% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Enrollment | 277 | top 32% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher
— 9% above state mean
Top 80% in Illinois — lower ratio than 20% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,378
per pupil, district-wide
— below Illinois avg of $20,099
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 277 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 277 Top 32% in Illinois — larger than 68% of 3,845 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 22.0
Students per teacher 15.9:1 +9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible —
NCES ID 174231004256
Student demographics
White 57.8%
Hispanic or Latino 31.0%
Two or More 7.9%
African American 2.2%
Asian 1.1%
Largest group: White at 57.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 277:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sterling Cusd 5, which includes Lincoln Elem School.
$15,378
Per student
-23%
vs Illinois
Avg $20,099
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 44.5%
State 42.1%
Federal 13.3%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 999
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 726
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 450
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Enrollment
- 407
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 394
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Sterling
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Lincoln Elem School
How many students attend Lincoln Elem School?
Lincoln Elem School has 277 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Sterling, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lincoln Elem School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lincoln Elem School is 15.9:1, which is 9% higher than the Illinois average of 14.6:1 and 0% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lincoln Elem School?
The largest demographic group at Lincoln Elem School is White at 57.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sterling, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lincoln Elem School?
Lincoln Elem School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.