Summary:
Zion-Benton Township HSD 126 has two public high schools, both serving grades 9–12: Zion-Benton Township High School, with 2,114 students, and Zion-Benton East High School, with 419. Results differ considerably between the schools, so the area-wide picture can hide important differences for families comparing them. Across the nine reported test measures, the schools’ combined average was 31%, compared with 47% for the state—a 16-point gap.
Zion-Benton East High School stands out: it scored higher than Zion-Benton Township High School in all nine comparisons, averaging 40% versus 23%. Its lead ranged from 2 points in grade 11 ACT math to 27 points in grade 10 PreACT science. East was above the state in only one measure—grade 10 science, at 48.9% versus 48.4%—and its grade 11 ACT math result was 21 points below the state. Township High School scored 22–27 points below the state across all nine measures. Math is the weakest area overall: the schools averaged 21% in math, 19 points below the state average.
Recent trends favor East: its average rose 4 points from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while Township High School’s fell 2 points; the state average declined by less than 1 point. SchoolDigger’s rankings also moved in opposite directions: Township High School fell from the 29th to the 13th percentile between 2023–2024 and 2025–2026, while East rose from the 22nd to the 37th percentile; SchoolDigger rates them 1 star and 2 stars, respectively, for 2025–2026. Other reported measures are similar: in 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligibility was 62% at Township High School and 61% at East, and their student-teacher ratios were 15.4 and 15.5. East also reported a 97% graduation rate and 23% chronic absenteeism in 2025–2026, compared with 92% and 35% at Township High School; Township High School’s graduation rate was still above the 90% state rate.
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