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How has Benton Grade Sch 5-8 changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
429
Middle
DISTRICT 500 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BENTON CCSD 47·NCES 170595004370
Benton Grade School 5-8
1000 Forrest St, Benton, IL 62812 · (618) 438-4011 · Franklin County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL429 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 54% of Illinois public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.6:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.1:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
262 students
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 56%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 112 | 26% |
| Grade 6 | 102 | 24% |
| Grade 7 | 116 | 27% |
| Grade 8 | 99 | 23% |
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 17% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Benton CCSD 47. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
50.7%
IL avg 51.0% . +10.4pp since 2023
Math
29.5%
IL avg 37.9% . +8.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 51 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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 10 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 50.7% | 29.5% |
| 2023-24 | 40.3% | 20.6% |
% 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
41.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% 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 →
Schools most like Benton Grade School 5-8
Benton Grade School 5-8's state test result (41.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Grade School 5-8 this school | 429 | 61.1% | 41.2% |
| Broadmoor Junior High School Pekin | 387 | 57.4% | 30.1% |
| Washington Intermediate School Pekin | 428 | 64.7% | 35.3% |
| Pikeland Community School Pittsfield | 491 | 56.2% | 20.3% |
| Du Quoin Middle School Du Quoin | 376 | 57.2% | 44.9% |
| Richland County Middle School Olney | 439 | 55.4% | 50.1% |
Matched among Illinois middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Benton Grade School 5-8 ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.2% | #311 of 578 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.5% | #360 of 640 ▲ 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 50.7% | #398 of 640 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 429 | #343 of 691 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.6:1 | #243 of 558 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.9% | #526 of 560 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.1% | #174 of 581 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.0% | #167 of 440 |
Ranked against other public middle 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. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
429
-92 (-18%) vs 2020
-12% since 1990-91, when it was 486
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 429 | 34 | 12.6:1 | 61% (262) |
| 2023-24 | 433 | 34 | 12.7:1 | 58% (250) |
| 2022-23 | 458 | 34.5 | 13.3:1 | 60% (277) |
| 2020-21 | 521 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 505 | 28.8 | 17.5:1 | 53% (270) |
| 2015-16 | 474 | 28 | 16.9:1 | 64% (302) |
| 2010-11 | 438 | 34 | 12.9:1 | 57% (249) |
| 2000-01 | 540 | 31 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 486 | 29 | 16.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benton Grade School 5-8.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (505 to 429); teachers up 18% (28.8 to 34).
About Benton Grade School 5-8
Benton Grade School 5-8 is a mid-sized middle-grades school in Benton, Illinois, one of the schools in Benton CCSD 47. Students in grades 5 through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 429 students.
Benton CCSD 47 has 1,000 students in 2 schools, and Benton Grade School 5-8 is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at Benton Grade School 5-8, about 93 are White. It is also 3% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. Census estimates put Franklin County at about 95% White, close to the school's figure. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 13%.
Benton Grade School 5-8 has a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.6:1, with 34 full-time-equivalent teachers. It is about the same as the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 61% at Benton Grade School 5-8.
Among Illinois public middle schools, Benton Grade School 5-8 outscored 54%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
Benton Grade School 5-8 is 5.0 points above its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results (41.2% versus 36.3%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Illinois.
The school's county is Franklin County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $56,740 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 16% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 13%. Public schools in Franklin County number 25, with about 5,523 students.
Benton Grade School 5-8 is less than a tenth of a mile from Benton Grade School K-4, its nearest public school. Within five miles are 2 other public schools. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Benton Grade School 5-8 ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Benton Grade School 5-8 is Town: Remote.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Benton Grade School 5-8 had a net loss of 92 students, or 18%.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Franklin County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
37,323
Census ACS
Median income
$56,740
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
5,523 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Benton CCSD 47
- Benton Grade School K-4Elementary · 571 students
- Franklin Co Detention Center 6-8Middle
Other schools in Benton
- Benton Cons High SchoolHigh · 604 students
- Benton Grade School K-4Elementary · 571 students
- ECHO Juvenile Detention CenterCombined
- Franklin Co Detention Center 6-8Middle
- Franklin Co Detention Center 9-12High
- Starquest Academy RSSP NorthMiddle
Nearby schools
- Benton Grade School K-40.1 mi · 571
- Benton Cons High School0.6 mi · 604
- Central Jr High School5.8 mi · 215
- Frankfort Intermediate School5.8 mi · 447
- Denning Elementary School6.2 mi · 439
- Frankfort Comm High School6.4 mi · 416
Frequently asked questions
About Benton Grade School 5-8What is the total enrollment at Benton Grade School 5-8?
Benton Grade School 5-8 enrolls approximately 429 students in grades 05-08.
Is Benton Grade School 5-8 an elementary, middle, or high school?
Benton Grade School 5-8 is a middle school covering grades 05-08.
How many teachers does Benton Grade School 5-8 have?
Benton Grade School 5-8 employs 34 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.6:1.
How diverse is Benton Grade School 5-8?
Benton Grade School 5-8 reports a student body of 93% White, 3% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Benton Grade School 5-8?
Benton Grade School 5-8 is overseen by Benton CCSD 47 in Franklin County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.