Enrollment
235
Middle
DISTRICT 286 · STATE 400
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BENTON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190483001987
Benton Community Middle School
600 1st St, Van Horne, IA 52346 · (319) 228-8701 · Benton County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL235 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of Iowa public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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 Iowa public middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
51 students
DISTRICT 26% · STATE 41%
Community
0
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 7 | 123 | 52% |
| Grade 8 | 112 | 48% |
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 48% · 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
Students here typically continue to
Benton Community Middle School→Benton Community Senior High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Benton Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Benton Community Middle School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
83.0%
IA avg 73.6% . -1.0pp since 2023
Math
74.4%
IA avg 70.9% . +9.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 83 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 74 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 83.0% | 74.4% |
| 2023-24 | 84.0% | 65.1% |
% Proficient, all students and all tested grades.
Source: ISASP. 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
76.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
81.1%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 77% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 81% typical for Iowa 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 Iowa'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 Community Middle School
Benton Community Middle School's state test result (76.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Community Middle School this school | 235 | 21.7% | 76.6% |
| Dike-New Hartford Junior High School New Hartford | 210 | 22.9% | N/A |
| Jesup Middle School Jesup | 249 | 22.1% | 81.0% |
| PCM Middle School Prairie City | 232 | 24.1% | 77.4% |
| Tipton Middle School Tipton | 256 | 23.8% | 74.4% |
| Woodward-Granger Middle School Woodward | 248 | 24.2% | 81.2% |
Matched among Iowa 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 Community Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.6% | #110 of 224 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 74.4% | #121 of 224 ▲ 48 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 83.0% | #64 of 224 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 235 | #172 of 246 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #160 of 180 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 16.1% | #156 of 180 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 21.7% | #205 of 237 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.4% | #41 of 61 |
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
235
+21 (+10%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 260
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 14.3:1
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 | 235 | 14 | 16.8:1 | 22% (51) |
| 2023-24 | 212 | 14 | 15.2:1 | 17% (37) |
| 2022-23 | 235 | 13.9 | 16.9:1 | 23% (53) |
| 2020-21 | 214 | 15 | 14.3:1 | 32% (68) |
| 2017-18 | 223 | 12.8 | 17.4:1 | 24% (54) |
| 2015-16 | 215 | 13 | 16.5:1 | 20% (43) |
| 2010-11 | 208 | 13 | 16.0:1 | 22% (45) |
| 2000-01 | 243 | 15 | 16.2:1 | 10% (25) |
| 1990-91 | 260 | 15 | 17.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benton Community Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (223 to 235); teachers up 9% (12.8 to 14).
About Benton Community Middle School
Benton Community Middle School is a low-enrollment middle-grades school found in Van Horne, Iowa. Students in grades 7 through 8 attend, and enrollment is 235 students. The school's enrollment is 41% smaller than the 400 average for middle schools in Iowa.
Benton Comm School District has 1,614 students spread across 5 schools.
At Benton Community Middle School, White students make up 91% of the student body. The remaining students are 3% multiracial, 3% Hispanic, and 3% Black. The county population is about 95% White, within a few points of the school. By the diversity index, Benton Community Middle School comes in at 16%.
The school reported 14 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 16.8:1. For comparison, middle schools in Iowa average 15.2:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 22%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Benton County is 37%.
Benton Community Middle School is graded C by allk12, scoring above 33% of Iowa public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Benton Community Middle School is -4.5 points: 76.6% actual, 81.1% predicted.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Benton County show that median household income is about $86,962, roughly 26% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Federal data list 12 public schools in Benton County, with a combined enrollment of about 3,919.
Of nearby public schools, Benton Community Senior High School is the closest, at less than a tenth of a mile. Inside a ten-mile radius, there are 2 other public schools. The nearest schools with test data average 78.3%, higher than Benton Community Middle School's 76.6%.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Distant: the school is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Benton Community Middle School had 214 students in 2020-21 and 235 in 2024-25, a 10% gain. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 14.3:1 to 16.8:1.
The discussion area below is open to posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Benton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
25,724
Census ACS
Median income
$86,962
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
3,919 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Benton Comm School District
- Benton Community Senior High SchoolHigh · 473 students
- Atkins Elementary SchoolElementary · 394 students
- Norway Elementary SchoolMiddle · 336 students
- Keystone Elementary SchoolElementary · 176 students
Nearby schools
- Benton Community Senior High School0.0 mi · 473
- Keystone Elementary School5.8 mi · 176
- Vinton-Shellsburg High School10.0 mi · 414
- Vinton-Shellsburg Middle School10.4 mi · 331
- Tilford Elementary School10.6 mi · 544
- Norway Elementary School11.1 mi · 336
Frequently asked questions
About Benton Community Middle SchoolHow many students attend Benton Community Middle School?
Benton Community Middle School enrolls approximately 235 students in grades 07-08.
What age range does Benton Community Middle School serve?
Benton Community Middle School serves students from grade 07 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Benton Community Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Benton Community Middle School is approximately 16.8:1 (14 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Benton Community Middle School?
Student demographics at Benton Community Middle School are roughly 91% White, 3% Hispanic, 3% Black, 3% Two or more.
What district is Benton Community Middle School in?
Benton Community Middle School is part of Benton Comm School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.