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Best Public Schools in Benton, KY

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Kentucky rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

3,521

Students

Top rankedCentral Elementary School112^th of 684 Kentucky elementary schools

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Biggest riser

South Marshall Elementary School up 224 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

South Marshall Elementary School 12 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Kentucky cities →See the top-ranked Kentucky schools →

Summary:

Benton, Kentucky, has nine schools: five elementary schools, one middle school, two high schools and one alternative school, within the Marshall County district. In 2025–26, the elementary schools’ average proficiency was above the same-grade state average in all six reported subjects, while results at the middle-school level were weaker. The most important difference is that South Marshall Middle was 17 percentage points below the state in math in each of grades 6, 7 and 8.

Among elementary schools, Central Elementary had the broadest set of leading results, topping grade 4 and 5 math, grade 3 reading, and several grade 5 subjects. Across the elementary schools, the average was 56% in math versus 43% statewide, and 59% in editing and mechanics versus 48% statewide. South Marshall Elementary had standout grade 5 results, leading reading at 77% and editing and mechanics at 84%; Sharpe Elementary led grade 3 math at 76%. At the high-school level, Marshall County High School scored 48% in grade 10 reading, 25 points above MC Academy’s 23%.

Results changed in different directions: South Marshall Elementary’s matched test results rose by an average of 15 points from 2024–25 to 2025–26, while South Marshall Middle’s fell by an average of 9 points. SchoolDigger gave Central, Sharpe and South Marshall Elementary four stars for 2025–26, compared with one star for South Marshall Middle and MC Academy. Context also varies: South Marshall and Jonathan Elementary each enrolled 241 students; their 2024–25 student-teacher ratios were 12.0 and 14.1, and their free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 73% and 78%. South Marshall led them in grade 5 reading, 77% to 41%, while Jonathan led in grade 3 math, 73% to 67%. Comparisons depend on matching grades, subjects and years; some results are suppressed or unavailable.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				KSA Mathematics (2026)							KSA Reading (2026)							KSA Science (2026)			KSA Writing (2026)			KSA Social Studies (2026)			KSA Editing and Mechanics (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	KSA Mathematics 4th Grade	KSA Mathematics 5th Grade	KSA Mathematics 6th Grade	KSA Mathematics 7th Grade	KSA Mathematics 8th Grade	KSA Mathematics 10th Grade	KSA Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th Grade	KSA Reading 6th Grade	KSA Reading 7th Grade	KSA Reading 8th Grade	KSA Reading 10th Grade	KSA Science 4th Grade	KSA Science 7th Grade	KSA Science 11th Grade	KSA Writing 5th Grade	KSA Writing 8th Grade	KSA Writing 11th Grade	KSA Social Studies 5th Grade	KSA Social Studies 8th Grade	KSA Social Studies 11th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 5th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 8th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 11th Grade	Total
Central Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	115 Jim Goheen Drive	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(270) 527-0796	480	31	15.4	50.8%	449 (93.5%)	5 (1.0%)	12 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.9%)	79.1	112^th of 684 public elementary schools	83.6%		71.9	158^th of 685 public elementary schools	76.9%	46	56.0	64.0	59.0					63.0	52.0	68.0					43.0			70.0			55.0			64.0
Benton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	208 W 11th St	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(270) 527-3373	528	33	15.9	62.3%	478 (90.5%)	2 (0.4%)	26 (4.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (3.6%)	58.6	256^th of 684 public elementary schools	62.6%		61.5	241^st of 685 public elementary schools	64.8%	15	61.0	55.0	28.0					55.0	62.0	55.0					47.0			37.0			33.0			48.0
Jonathan Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	9207 US Hwy 68 E	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(270) 354-6462	241	17	14.1	78.4%	209 (86.7%)	2 (0.8%)	18 (7.5%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.1%)	42.9	400^th of 684 public elementary schools	41.5%		34	470^th of 685 public elementary schools	31.4%	70	73.0	43.0	34.0					46.0	41.0	41.0								34.0			31.0			44.0
Marshall County High School	Public	9-12	416 High School Rd	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	No	(270) 527-1453	1,201	64	18.8	48.2%	1,115 (92.8%)	3 (0.2%)	38 (3.2%)	9 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (2.9%)	48.6	130^th of 262 public high schools	50.4%		49.1	129^th of 254 public high schools	49.2%	1							40.0							48.0			21.0			43.0			35.0			45.0
Sharpe Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8400 US Hwy 68 W	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(270) 898-2852	276	22	12.5	54.7%	250 (90.6%)	3 (1.1%)	11 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.0%)	69.7	176^th of 684 public elementary schools	74.3%		58.9	264^th of 685 public elementary schools	61.5%	88	76.0	55.0	46.0					63.0	63.0	54.0					45.0			39.0			46.0			54.0
South Marshall Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	155 Sid Darnell Road	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(270) 527-1581	241	20	12.0	72.6%	229 (95.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.9%)	71.7	161^st of 684 public elementary schools	76.5%		44.4	385^th of 685 public elementary schools	43.8%	224	67.0	63.0	57.0					47.0	43.0	77.0					40.0			45.0			48.0			84.0
Marshall County Technical Center	Public	9-12	341 High School Rd	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	No	(270) 527-8648	0	12	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
South Marshall Middle	Public	6-8	2211 US 641 South	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	No	Yes	(270) 527-3828	432	27	15.7	60.9%	395 (91.4%)	1 (0.2%)	28 (6.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.4%)	29.4	242^nd of 326 public middle schools	25.8%		44	177^th of 320 public middle schools	44.7%	65				25.0	22.0	22.0					34.0	40.0	33.0			33.0			44.0			32.0			51.0
Purchase Youth Village	Public, Virtual, Alternative	1-12	473 Old Symsonia Rd	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	Yes	No	(270) 252-7400	22	3	7.3	13.6%	18 (81.8%)	2 (9.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (9.1%)								(n/a)
MC Academy	Public, Virtual	6-12	397 High School Road	Benton	42025	Marshall County	Marshall County	No	No	Yes	No	(270) 527-8628	100	3	33.3	51.0%	96 (96.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.0%)	23.1	206^th of 262 public high schools	21.4%		12.4	228^th of 254 public high schools	10.2%	22														23.0									33.0

Cities Near Benton

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Calvert City	5.83 mi	2	111^th
Symsonia	10.63 mi	1	14^th
Paducah	14.38 mi	20	119^th
Smithland	14.46 mi	2	39^th
Murray	15.61 mi	13	59^th

See the top KY Kentucky cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kentucky Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.