BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL

BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is a middle school of big scale in BENTON, Arkansas, part of BENTON SCHOOL DISTRICT, educateing 1,363 students in grades 5 through 7. Compared to the state average of about 464 students per school, that is 194% larger than typical.

Within BENTON SCHOOL DISTRICT, which oversees 8 schools and 5,806 students, BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL logs that White students make up the majority at 72%; the rest breaks down as 12% Black, 10% Hispanic, 5% multiracial. The wider county runs roughly 80% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

Looking at the economic backdrop, The school lists 79 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 17.2:1. That figure is higher than the state norm's 13.9:1 average. Roughly 43% of students at BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

On a demographically-adjusted basis, BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 42.8%, the actual is 40.1%, a residual of -2.7 points.

Around the school, ACS estimates for Saline County put the typical household earns roughly $79,046 per year, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 6%. In all, Saline County runs 33 public schools (combined enrollment of about 20,022 students), of which BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL is one.

The closest other public school is BENTON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, roughly 0.1 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks 6th on composite proficiency, higher than the local average of 38.8%.

The school occupies a commuter-belt site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at BENTON MIDDLE SCHOOL has increased 5%, going from 1,296 students in 2018 to 1,363 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 79% to 72% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 18.4:1 in 2018 to 17.2:1 today.

On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.