Abraham Lincoln Senior High vs Los Angeles High School of the Arts

Abraham Lincoln Senior High ranks #165 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 2% statewide. Los Angeles High School of the Arts sits at #459 of 9,533 — still an elite placement, top 5% statewide — but trails Lincoln by 294 spots. The overall rating gap is 0.4 points, with Abraham Lincoln Senior High earning 9.2/10 against Los Angeles High School of the Arts at 8.8/10. Both schools clear a high bar; the question is what drives that gap and whether it matters for a specific student.

The clearest numerical separation is in academic score: Abraham Lincoln Senior High scores 9.2/10 versus Los Angeles High School of the Arts at 7.7/10 — a 1.5-point delta that reflects meaningfully higher proficiency rates on state assessments. Growth tells a different story. Abraham Lincoln Senior High earns a perfect 10.0/10 growth score, while Los Angeles High School of the Arts posts 9.8/10 — effectively a tie. Both schools are outstanding at accelerating students relative to their starting points; neither has an edge worth weighing here.

Abraham Lincoln Senior High enrolls 942 students compared to 435 at Los Angeles High School of the Arts, making Lincoln more than twice the size. Despite that difference, classroom density is nearly identical: Lincoln's student-teacher ratio is 15.7:1 versus LAHSA's 16.1:1, so neither school has a meaningful structural advantage in instructional access. Free and reduced lunch eligibility — the closest available proxy for concentrated economic need — runs at 86% at Abraham Lincoln Senior High and 91% at Los Angeles High School of the Arts, meaning both serve predominantly low-income populations, with LAHSA's share 5 points higher.

Los Angeles High School of the Arts is a specialized school, and that distinction matters more than the rating gap for most families making this choice. Its program is structured around arts integration across disciplines, drawing students specifically through that curricular focus rather than a traditional comprehensive high school sequence. Abraham Lincoln Senior High, separated from LAHSA by 5.4 miles, operates as a full-enrollment neighborhood high school with a broader course catalog and a larger student body, which typically means more extracurricular variety, more AP section offerings, and a wider peer network.