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What clubs or activities at Benson Elementary are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
719
Elementary
DISTRICT 690 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOHNSTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370237001009
Benson Elementary
2040 Hwy 50 N, Benson, NC 27504 · (919) 894-4233 · Johnston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL719 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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 North Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
716 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 82%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 11 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 105 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 110 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 120 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 141 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 104 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 128 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (105) is 18% smaller than its 5th grade class (128).
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · STATE 71% · 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
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
56.6%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
70.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. 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
64.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 64% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% typical for North Carolina 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 North Carolina'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 Benson Elementary
Benson Elementary's state test result (64.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benson Elementary this school | 719 | 99.6% | 64.0% |
| Lincoln Elementary Leland | 738 | 99.6% | 48.7% |
| Coats Elementary Coats | 633 | 96.7% | 36.0% |
| West Clayton Elementary Clayton | 742 | 98.5% | 55.9% |
| Corinth-Holders Elementary Zebulon | 585 | 99.5% | 59.7% |
| Pineville Elementary Pineville | 742 | 99.6% | 61.8% |
Matched among North Carolina elementary 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 Benson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Johnston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.0% | #378 of 1,297 | #11 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.6% | #315 of 1,296 | #6 of 24 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 56.6% | #419 of 1,300 | #12 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 719 | #158 of 1,485 | #12 of 25 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #976 of 1,377 | #12 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.3% | #293 of 1,379 | #6 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.6% | #58 of 1,414 | #7 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +15.0% | #138 of 369 | #2 of 9 |
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. 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
719
+134 (+23%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 944
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 13.0:1
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 | 719 | 45.4 | 15.8:1 | 100% (716) |
| 2023-24 | 603 | 48.5 | 12.4:1 | 100% (600) |
| 2022-23 | 608 | 42 | 14.5:1 | 74% (449) |
| 2020-21 | 585 | 45 | 13.0:1 | 57% (333) |
| 2017-18 | 625 | 44.5 | 14.0:1 | 69% (432) |
| 2015-16 | 625 | 49 | 12.8:1 | 69% (434) |
| 2010-11 | 569 | 40 | 14.2:1 | 61% (349) |
| 2000-01 | 563 | 42 | 13.4:1 | 64% (361) |
| 1990-91 | 944 | 58 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benson Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 15% (625 to 719); teachers up 2% (44.5 to 45.4).
About Benson Elementary
Benson Elementary is a high-enrollment elementary school located in Benson, North Carolina. The school counts 719 students across pre-K through 5. The typical figure for elementary schools in North Carolina is about 467 students.
Benson Elementary is in Johnston County Public Schools, a district with 37,320 students across 48 schools.
The most common group at Benson Elementary is White students, at 39%. Other groups make up 36% Hispanic, 17% Black, and 8% multiracial. Johnston County as a whole is about 64% White, so the school's share is lower. The school's diversity index is 68%, meaning two students picked at random have a 68% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 15.8:1, with 45.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is 1.0 students per teacher above the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 100% of enrollment.
Benson Elementary is graded A- by allk12, scoring above 79% of North Carolina public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Benson Elementary's average proficiency rate on state tests of 64.0% is 15.5 points above the 48.4% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Census estimates describe Johnston County this way: the median household income is $83,384, 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Benson Elementary, Johnston County has 51 other public schools.
The next-closest public school is Benson Middle, about 1.5 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 2. On proficiency, Benson Elementary is ahead of the 40.9% nearby average, ranking 1st of 8.
The federal government classifies Benson Elementary's location as Rural: Distant.
Enrollment has grown by 134 students since 2020-21, to 719. The school's ratio rose from 13.0:1 to 15.8:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Johnston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
234,263
Census ACS
Median income
$83,384
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
52
41,004 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Johnston County Public Schools
- Corinth Holders HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Clayton HighHigh · 1,929 students
- Cleveland HighHigh · 1,889 students
- West Johnston HighHigh · 1,563 students
- Smithfield-Selma HighHigh · 1,548 students
- South Johnston HighHigh · 1,355 students
Other schools in Benson
- West Johnston HighHigh · 1,563 students
- McGee's Crossroads MiddleMiddle · 757 students
- Meadow SchoolElementary · 646 students
- Benson MiddleMiddle · 377 students
Nearby schools
- Benson Middle1.5 mi · 377
- South Johnston High3.1 mi · 1,355
- Dunn Middle5.5 mi · 388
- Coats-Erwin Middle6.2 mi · 589
- Harnett County Early College6.8 mi · 185
- Dunn Elementary6.8 mi · 813
Frequently asked questions
About Benson ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Benson Elementary?
Benson Elementary enrolls approximately 719 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Benson Elementary serve?
Benson Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Benson Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Benson Elementary is approximately 15.8:1 (45 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Benson Elementary?
At Benson Elementary, the student body is approximately 39% White, 36% Hispanic, 17% Black, 8% Two or more.
Is Benson Elementary public or private?
Benson Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Johnston County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.