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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Benton Community Senior High School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
473
High
DISTRICT 323 · STATE 468
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BENTON COMM SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 190483000137
Benton Community Senior High School
600 1st St, Van Horne, IA 52346 · (319) 228-8701 · Benton County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL473 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 32% of Iowa public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.6:1 · STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
20%
96 students
DISTRICT 26% · STATE 41%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 119 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 131 | 28% |
| Grade 11 | 107 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 116 | 25% |
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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Benton Comm School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ISASP 2024-25 . % ProficientEnglish Language Arts
76.2%
IA avg 73.6% . -8.4pp since 2023
Math
62.4%
IA avg 70.9% . -5.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the ISASP, Iowa's statewide test, about 76 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 Iowa schools, those numbers are about 74 and 71. Reading and writing scores are down about 8 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
ISASP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.2% | 62.4% |
| 2023-24 | 84.6% | 67.5% |
% 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
71.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
81.8%
based on IA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 82% 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 Senior High School
Benton Community Senior High School's state test result (71.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benton Community Senior High School this school | 473 | 20.3% | 71.9% |
| Interstate 35 High School Truro | 385 | 20.5% | 80.5% |
| Bellevue High School Bellevue | 354 | 21.5% | 67.5% |
| Decorah High School Decorah | 555 | 20.9% | 87.3% |
| Williamsburg Jr-Sr High School Williamsburg | 604 | 21.5% | 85.0% |
| PCM High School Monroe | 348 | 19.5% | 73.9% |
Matched among Iowa high 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 Senior High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.9% | #175 of 313 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 62.4% | #249 of 314 ▼ 57 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.2% | #188 of 314 ▼ 123 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 473 | #99 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #217 of 259 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 15.6% | #195 of 260 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.3% | #286 of 320 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.7% | #107 of 133 |
Ranked against other public high 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
473
-29 (-6%) vs 2020
+32% since 1990-91, when it was 357
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 19.3:1
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 | 473 | 28.1 | 16.8:1 | 20% (96) |
| 2023-24 | 490 | 27.2 | 18.0:1 | 23% (113) |
| 2022-23 | 496 | 29.6 | 16.8:1 | 27% (133) |
| 2020-21 | 502 | 26 | 19.3:1 | 26% (131) |
| 2017-18 | 456 | 28.9 | 15.8:1 | 20% (89) |
| 2015-16 | 469 | 27 | 17.4:1 | 22% (103) |
| 2010-11 | 545 | 35 | 15.6:1 | 19% (103) |
| 2000-01 | 555 | 38 | 14.6:1 | 10% (56) |
| 1990-91 | 357 | 29 | 12.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benton Community Senior High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (456 to 473); teachers down 3% (28.9 to 28.1).
About Benton Community Senior High School
Benton Community Senior High School, a mid-sized high school, is located in Van Horne, Iowa. The school enrolls 473 students in grades 9 through 12.
Benton Comm School District has 5 schools and 1,614 students, and Benton Community Senior High School is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at Benton Community Senior High School, about 92 are White. Other students are 4% multiracial and 3% Hispanic. Census estimates put Benton 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 16%.
Its staff includes 28.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 16.8 students per teacher. It is about the same as the 17.3:1 average for high schools in Iowa. Benton Community Senior High School has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 20%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Benton County is 37%.
Benton Community Senior High School earns a C on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 32% of Iowa public high schools.
Compared with Iowa schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Benton Community Senior High School's results are 9.9 points below predicted: 71.9% against 81.8%.
American Community Survey estimates for Benton County show that the median household earns about $86,962 a year, about 26% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Benton County has 12 public schools with about 3,919 students, including Benton Community Senior High School.
Benton Community Middle School is less than a tenth of a mile from Benton Community Senior High School, the shortest distance to any other public school. A ten-mile radius around the school includes 2 other public schools. Benton Community Senior High School places 9th of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
NCES assigns Benton Community Senior High School the locale Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Since 2020-21, enrollment has fallen 6%, from 502 to 473. By 2024-25, the school had 16.8 students per teacher, compared with 19.3 in 2020-21.
The discussion board for Benton Community Senior High School is open to topics like pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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
- Atkins Elementary SchoolElementary · 394 students
- Norway Elementary SchoolMiddle · 336 students
- Benton Community Middle SchoolMiddle · 235 students
- Keystone Elementary SchoolElementary · 176 students
Nearby schools
- Benton Community Middle School0.0 mi · 235
- 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 Senior High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Benton Community Senior High School?
Benton Community Senior High School enrolls approximately 473 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Benton Community Senior High School serve?
Benton Community Senior High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Benton Community Senior High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Benton Community Senior High School is approximately 16.8:1 (28 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Benton Community Senior High School?
Benton Community Senior High School reports a student body of 92% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Benton Community Senior High School?
Benton Community Senior High School is overseen by Benton Comm School District in Benton County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.