Summary:
Zip code 72015 in Benton, Arkansas, is home to two high schools—Benton High School and Harmony Grove High School—both serving grades 10-12 and offering distinct educational experiences within the Benton School District and the HARMONY GROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT (Saline), respectively.
Benton High School is the larger and more academically consistent standout, enrolling 1,298 students and ranking in the top 15% of Arkansas high schools. It boasts a 94.2% graduation rate, well above the state average of 90.1%, and outperforms state averages in all tested subjects—especially Geometry, where 43.7% of students are proficient compared to the state’s 26.4%. In contrast, Harmony Grove High School is smaller (312 students) and offers an exceptionally low student-teacher ratio of 6:1, along with higher per-student spending ($12,623 vs. $10,251). However, its academic performance is mixed: while it matches Benton in Biology proficiency (55.1% vs. 54.2%), it struggles significantly in Geometry, with only 9.6% proficiency—a critical gap that suggests smaller classes alone don’t guarantee strong outcomes in all subjects.
Both schools have very low dropout rates (1.0% at Benton, 0.6% at Harmony Grove), indicating strong student retention. Harmony Grove also has a slightly lower percentage of students receiving free/reduced lunch (21.47% vs. 30.2%), yet Benton still leads in most academic metrics, highlighting the effectiveness of its institutional practices. For parents, Benton High School offers proven, consistent excellence across the board, while Harmony Grove High School provides a more personalized environment but with notable weaknesses in math that families should investigate further.
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