Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
School pathway
Test scores
ATLAS 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3+4)What this means: On the ATLAS, Arkansas's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Arkansas schools, those numbers are about 35 and 39. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyWhat this means: About 53% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% typical for Arkansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Arkansas's top nor bottom 10%.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25About BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Set in BENTON, Arkansas, BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL is a substantial senior high, one of the schools within BENTON SCHOOL DISTRICT. It teaches 971 students across grades 8 through 9. Compared to the state average of about 510 students per school, that is 90% above typical.
BENTON SCHOOL DISTRICT runs 8 schools in total, collectively educating 5,806 students. BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL is one of those campuses.
On the student-mix side, BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL records that White students make up the majority at 73%. The remainder breaks down as 10% Black, 10% Hispanic, 5% multiracial.
Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 57 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 16.9:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 8.8:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical. Roughly 37% of students at BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Saline County runs at roughly 47%, so the school's eligibility rate is somewhat below the surrounding baseline.
With demographic context factored in, BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 46.2%, the actual is 52.7%, a residual of +6.5 points.
In the broader community, ACS estimates for Saline County put the typical household earns roughly $79,046 per year, roughly 29% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and roughly 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL is one of 33 public schools in Saline County (combined enrollment of about 20,022 students).
The closest other public school is BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL, roughly 0.1 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL at 1st of 9; the average score across the group is 37.6%.
Geographically, the school is in a residential area.
Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count ticked up 17%: 827 students in 2018 compared to 971 in 2025.
Within the allk12 community for this school, posts here usually surface around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.
Saline County at a glance
View full county profileQuick facts
Related schools
- BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 1,363 students
- BENTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,298 students
- RINGGOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 511 students
- PERRIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 465 students
- MT. VIEW ELEMENTARYElementary · 431 students
- CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 427 students
- BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOLMiddle · 1,363 students
- BENTON HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 1,298 students
- RINGGOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 511 students
- SALEM ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 469 students
- PERRIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 465 students
- HURRICANE CREEK ELEMENTARYElementary · 435 students
- BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL0.1 mi · 1,363
- BENTON HIGH SCHOOL0.2 mi · 1,298
- ANGIE GRANT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL0.4 mi · 340
- PERRIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL0.7 mi · 465
- RINGGOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.2 mi · 511
- CALDWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.9 mi · 427