Summary:
The Benton School District is home to one large middle school, Benton Middle School, which serves 1,363 students in grades 5 through 7 and operates with a student-teacher ratio of 17.1:1.
Benton Middle School is a solidly above-average school that outperforms the state average in all four core subjects—English Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, and Science. Its strongest subject is Mathematics, where 52.8% of students are proficient, significantly outpacing the state average of 44.1%. The school has shown clear year-over-year improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with the largest gain in Mathematics (+4.5 percentage points). However, a notable trend is the "5th Grade Peak" phenomenon: proficiency rates consistently decline as students progress from 5th to 7th grade. For example, in English Language Arts, 45.9% of 5th graders are proficient, dropping to 40.9% in 6th grade and just 36.2% in 7th grade—the only score that falls below the state average. This suggests a challenge in curriculum or engagement for upper-grade students.
Despite improving test scores, the school's state ranking has dropped from the 73rd percentile in 2024-2025 to the 64th percentile in 2025-2026, indicating that other schools in Arkansas are improving at a faster pace. The school generally underperforms the district average in most subjects, with Mathematics being the only area where it comes close (52.8% vs. 56.5%). With 43.43% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, the school demonstrates effective teaching and leadership by consistently outperforming the state average despite moderate economic diversity. The key takeaway for parents is that Benton Middle School provides a strong foundation, particularly in math, but may need additional support for 7th graders in English and reading to maintain its competitive edge.
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