Summary:
Zip code 62812 has three public schools serving kindergarten through grade 12: Benton Grade School K–4, Benton Grade School 5–8, and Benton Cons High School. The two grade schools’ 2025–2026 all-grades IAR averages were 47% proficient in ELA and 29% in math, compared with state rates of 56% and 40%. Both averages were below state, with math the clearest area-wide concern: the average gaps were 10 points in ELA and 11 points in math.
Among the grade schools, Benton Grade School 5–8 had the stronger all-grades results: 50% in ELA versus 44% at Benton Grade School K–4, a 7-point lead. Math was close—29.3% versus 28.8%, a 1-point lead when rounded—and both schools were below state. The high school’s clearest strength was grade 9, which exceeded state in ELA, math, and science by 3, 1, and 6 points. By contrast, its grade 10 results were below state by 14, 9, and 16 points in those subjects. Within the grade schools, K–4 fourth-grade math was a notable low, at 20% proficiency and 22 points below state; 5–8 seventh-grade ELA stood out positively at 59%, 1 point above state.
Recent results show more setbacks than gains relative to state, but grade 9 is an important exception. From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, K–4 and 5–8 all-grades results slipped slightly or more, while state results rose; high-school grade 10 also declined in all three subjects. Grade 9 improved in all three, including an 8-point math gain and a 12-point science gain. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking percentiles fell from 2023–2024 to 2025–2026 at all three schools: from 64 to 47 at the high school, 47 to 23 at K–4, and 53 to 27 at 5–8. As context, in 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 51% at the high school, 67% at K–4, and 61% at 5–8; student-teacher ratios were 13.5, 15.6, and 12.6, respectively. These contextual figures do not explain achievement differences, and results are best compared only across matching grades, subjects, and years.
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