Summary:
ZIP code 62812 has one middle school, Benton Grade School 5–8, serving grades 5–8 and enrolling 429 students. With no other school in the list, the clearest comparisons are with Illinois and across Benton’s grades and years. Its 2025–26 all-grade results were below the state in both ELA and mathematics, with the larger shortfall in mathematics: 29% proficient compared with 40% statewide, a 10-point gap.
Benton is the only school here, so there is no school-to-school top or bottom. Within its grade-level results, 7th-grade ELA stands out as a relative bright spot: 59% proficient, 1 point above Illinois. The largest shortfalls are in 8th-grade ELA, at 46% versus 63% statewide, or 17 points below, and 6th-grade mathematics, at 22% versus 36%, or 15 points below. Grade-by-grade ELA and mathematics results match the district’s supplied figures, even though Benton’s all-grade results are slightly higher than the district’s: 2 points in ELA and less than 1 point in mathematics.
Recent results show Benton losing ground to Illinois overall, while grade 8 science is a particularly sharp exception to its earlier performance. From 2024–25 to 2025–26, ELA slipped from 51% to 50% as the state rose from 53% to 56%, widening Benton’s gap by 4 points; mathematics changed little, from 29.5% to 29.3%, while the state rose from 39% to 40%. In grade 8 science, Benton fell from 54% to 31%, moving from 9 points above the state to 21 points below. SchoolDigger ranks Benton 819th of 1,126 schools, in the 27th percentile, with one star for 2025–26. Context figures include a 12.6 student–teacher ratio and 61% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25, and 27% chronic absenteeism in 2025–26, above the state’s 24%.
Thank you for your feedback!