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What's the biggest difference between Benjamin Elem School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
607
Elementary
DISTRICT 354 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCLEAN COUNTY USD 5·NCES 172862006130
Benjamin Elementary School
6006 Ireland Grove Rd, Bloomington, IL 61705 · (309) 557-4410 · McLean County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL607 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.9:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
11%
67 students
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 56%
Community
4
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 76 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 97 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 116 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 99 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 104 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 115 | 19% |
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
59.7%
IL avg 51.0% . +13.8pp since 2023
Math
62.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +18.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 14 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 18 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 59.7% | 62.2% |
| 2023-24 | 45.9% | 44.0% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
58.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.1%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% typical for Illinois 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 Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Benjamin Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In McLean County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 58.4% | #364 of 1,925 | #7 of 29 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 62.2% | #365 of 2,077 | #5 of 29 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.7% | #688 of 2,077 | #10 of 29 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 607 | #265 of 2,419 | #1 of 32 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.1:1 | #1,928 of 2,035 | #28 of 30 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.9% | #307 of 2,042 | #15 of 30 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.9% | #369 of 615 | #3 of 6 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
607
+39 (+7%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
18.1:1
was 21.0:1
% White
48%
was 62%
% Hispanic
7%
was 1%
% Black
5%
was 6%
% Asian
31%
was 29%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 607 | 33.5 | 18.1:1 | 11% (67) |
| 2023-24 | 629 | 34.5 | 18.2:1 | 10% (65) |
| 2022-23 | 613 | 34.1 | 18.0:1 | 11% (67) |
| 2017-18 | 568 | 27.1 | 21.0:1 | 7% (41) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benjamin Elementary School.
About Benjamin Elementary School
Benjamin Elementary School is a high-enrollment elementary school with its address in Bloomington, Illinois. The school enrolls 607 students, from kindergarten through 5. Average enrollment for elementary schools in Illinois is about 381, so this school runs 59% larger than that.
The 24 schools in McLean County USD 5 enroll 12,407 students altogether, Benjamin Elementary School among them.
Enrollment at Benjamin Elementary School is mixed, with White students the largest group at 48%. The rest of enrollment is 31% Asian, 7% Hispanic, 5% Black, and 5% multiracial. Census estimates put the White share of McLean County's population at about 78%. Benjamin Elementary School has a diversity index of 66%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The ratio of students to teachers is 18.1:1, with 33.5 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. For comparison, elementary schools in Illinois average 13.9:1. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 11%. Among public schools in McLean County, the average eligibility rate is 40%.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Benjamin Elementary School, the prediction is 65.1% and the result is 58.4%.
McLean County has about 171,556 residents, and median household income is about $79,905, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 47%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of McLean County number 60 and enroll about 23,759.
The nearest other public school, Evans Junior High School, is about 3.9 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 5. Benjamin Elementary School is 5th of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
The school's locale code, City: Small, means it is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
A comparison of 2017-18 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 7%, from 568 to 607. The White share was 62% in 2017-18 and 48% in 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 18.1 students per teacher, compared with 21.0 in 2017-18.
To ask about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
McLean County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
171,556
Census ACS
Median income
$79,905
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
60
23,759 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in McLean County USD 5
- Normal Community High SchoolHigh · 2,079 students
- Normal Community West High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Evans Junior High SchoolMiddle · 778 students
- Kingsley Jr High SchoolMiddle · 730 students
- Parkside Jr High SchoolMiddle · 598 students
- Chiddix Jr High SchoolMiddle · 597 students
Other schools in Bloomington
- Bloomington High SchoolHigh · 1,369 students
- Bloomington Jr High SchoolMiddle · 1,050 students
- Evans Junior High SchoolMiddle · 778 students
- Northpoint Elementary SchoolElementary · 472 students
- Oakland Elementary SchoolElementary · 446 students
- Cedar Ridge Elementary SchoolElementary · 418 students
Nearby schools
- Evans Junior High School3.9 mi · 778
- Tri-Valley Elementary School4.4 mi · 295
- Tri-Valley High School4.5 mi · 329
- Tri-Valley Middle School4.6 mi · 450
- Stevenson Elementary School4.8 mi · 299
- Northpoint Elementary School5.1 mi · 472
Frequently asked questions
About Benjamin Elementary SchoolHow large is Benjamin Elementary School?
Benjamin Elementary School enrolls approximately 607 students in grades KG-05.
Is Benjamin Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Benjamin Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Benjamin Elementary School have?
Benjamin Elementary School employs 34 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.1:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Benjamin Elementary School?
At Benjamin Elementary School, the student body is approximately 48% White, 7% Hispanic, 5% Black, 31% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Benjamin Elementary School public or private?
Benjamin Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by McLean County USD 5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.