In 2018, ALHS was ranked #499 and earned a gold medal by U.S. News & World Report, placing it in the top 2% of public high schools nationally.

[6] ALHS provides services and special education for severely and non-severely impaired students, including a comprehensive English Language Learner (ELL) program, a Mandarin Secondary Dual Language Pathway, four years of Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese instruction, a GATE pathway for gifted and talented students, a Wellness Center, Peer Resource Program, AVID, Step-to-College, clubs, athletics, and extracurriculars.

Abraham Lincoln High School was established on Tuesday, August 27, 1940, accepting approximately 950 students under principal Clyde W. White.

A 1938 bond issue, approved by San Francisco voters to address the increasing population in the Western San Francisco area, financed the incorporation of ALHS with a three-story building of 50 classrooms, library, and cafeteria as well as a football field, costing over $750,000 in 1940[7] (adjusted for 2005 dollars, over $10 million).

[8] Mayor of San Francisco London Breed criticized the renaming proposal, arguing that there were more important tasks to focus on during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school hymn, titled "High on a Hilltop", was written by Lincoln graduate Patricia Cutler Aversano in 1943.

Unity Assembly began to understand other cultures after a near-fatal school-related shooting, which resulted in a paralyzed teenager over twenty years ago.

[15] In the Cartoon Network show The Amazing World of Gumball (2011-2019), a visually tweaked version of the exterior is used to represent the school the characters attend.

[5][failed verification] ALHS has over 40 clubs and student organizations, including Mock Trial, Drama and Tech, Improv, UNICEF, Chess, GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance), Surf, Rowing, KPOP, Glee, JROTC (Color Guard, Drum Corps, Exhibition and Flag and Exhibition Drill Teams), Black Student Union, Korean, Japanese Culture, and FilAm (Filipino American).

ALHS fields varsity teams in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, fencing, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and wrestling.

[18] On December 14, 2019, the Mustangs defeated Gardena High School Panthers 35–26 in the Division 7AA state championship at City College of San Francisco.