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Ben Franklin Elementary School

Public Grades K-4
1699th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,445 New York Elementary Schools
Better than 31% of New York elementary schools
Summary

Ben Franklin Elementary School is a public elementary school in Buffalo, New York, serving 460 students in grades K-4 as part of the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District.

Despite the school's high spending per student, which has increased from $15,867 to $25,967 over the past few years, Ben Franklin Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New York elementary schools academically. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 43.75% of 3rd graders and 43.33% of 4th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 50.53% and 48.39% for the district, and 54.15% and 54.07% for the state. The school's math proficiency rates were also below district and state averages. This declining performance is concerning and suggests the need for significant interventions to address the learning needs of students.

Comparing Ben Franklin Elementary to nearby schools, such as Herbert Hoover Elementary School and Charles A. Lindbergh Elementary School, which generally perform better on state assessments, highlights the broader challenges within the Kenmore-Tonawanda district. However, Windermere Blvd School, located just under a mile from Ben Franklin Elementary and part of the Amherst Central School District, significantly outperforms Ben Franklin Elementary and the Kenmore-Tonawanda district on academic measures, suggesting the potential for higher-performing schools in the region to serve as models for improvement.

460
Students ?
10.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$25,412
Per pupil spending ?
50.7%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 500 Parkhurst Blvd
       Buffalo, NY  14223-2199

(716) 874-8415

District: Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District


Students who attend Ben Franklin Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Ben Franklin Middle School
High:    Kenmore East Senior High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
58.7%
African American:
12.6%
Hispanic:
12.6%
more
 See top rated New York elementary schools

 Compare Ben Franklin Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 35th percentile in 2015 → 31st in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the New York average (47% vs 57% meeting standards)
!English Language Arts scores 11 pts below the New York average
!Near the bottom of Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District's ranking
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school47%
District avg51%
New York avg57%
1,699th of 2,445
New York public elementary schools ?
Bottom 31%▼ down 5 pts since 2015
From bottom 35% (2015) to bottom 31% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of New York Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 5Elementary Schools in the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District
574th of 874Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District among New York districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202532.51699 of 244530.5%★★☆☆☆
202427.11841 of 244524.7%★☆☆☆☆
202320.12035 of 243916.6%★☆☆☆☆
202222.61972 of 243419.0%★☆☆☆☆
202124.51763 of 220119.9%★☆☆☆☆
201917.12081 of 241313.8%★☆☆☆☆
201819.22062 of 239513.9%★☆☆☆☆
201715.62126 of 238610.9%★☆☆☆☆
201620.11993 of 236615.8%★☆☆☆☆
201537.51518 of 235235.5%★★☆☆☆
201436.91542 of 234534.2%★★☆☆☆
201335.01554 of 232533.2%★★☆☆☆
201253.91210 of 232047.8%★★☆☆☆
201158.01067 of 228653.3%★★★☆☆
201069.3715 of 226368.4%★★★☆☆
200955.91228 of 225745.6%★★☆☆☆
200858.91118 of 222749.8%★★☆☆☆
200762.21012 of 221954.4%★★★☆☆
200665.6912 of 220658.7%★★★☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202521.7777 of 92816.3%★☆☆☆☆
20237.1851 of 8570.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.9893 of 9364.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201920.9767 of 89113.9%★☆☆☆☆
201817.9867 of 9488.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202529.9548 of 69621.3%★☆☆☆☆
20229.1631 of 6716.0%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202223.1922 of 102710.2%★☆☆☆☆
201944.9386 of 86055.1%★★★☆☆
201824.5831 of 93811.4%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202536.31579 of 240934.5%★★☆☆☆
202437.91513 of 241337.3%★★☆☆☆
202328.91772 of 240326.3%★☆☆☆☆
202225.81883 of 240121.6%★☆☆☆☆
202120.31659 of 195515.1%★☆☆☆☆
201917.82053 of 235712.9%★☆☆☆☆
201827.41836 of 233821.5%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202531.81134 of 156927.7%★☆☆☆☆
202436.5983 of 153135.8%★★☆☆☆
202216.11396 of 15037.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202125.1669 of 81818.2%★☆☆☆☆
201847.5705 of 139249.4%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202526.91630 of 209822.3%★☆☆☆☆
202433.91381 of 207833.5%★★☆☆☆
202316.41870 of 20418.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202217.51929 of 20998.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202124.51404 of 167816.3%★☆☆☆☆
201918.71827 of 203210.1%★☆☆☆☆
201821.71790 of 204512.5%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202530.61731 of 240728.1%★☆☆☆☆
202419.72083 of 241113.6%★☆☆☆☆
202313.42212 of 24007.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202221.82003 of 240016.5%★☆☆☆☆
202128.01489 of 196124.1%★☆☆☆☆
201918.62022 of 235814.2%★☆☆☆☆
201816.72094 of 234010.5%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202537.7165 of 28742.5%★★☆☆☆
202430.2181 of 27935.1%★★☆☆☆
202327.3145 of 22335.0%★★☆☆☆
202145.874 of 14348.3%★★☆☆☆
201920.6142 of 18021.1%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202531.41482 of 213430.6%★★☆☆☆
202426.61695 of 211019.7%★☆☆☆☆
202330.21437 of 201628.7%★☆☆☆☆
202233.31376 of 203132.3%★★☆☆☆
202128.4809 of 104422.5%★☆☆☆☆
201923.51639 of 185911.8%★☆☆☆☆
201832.11408 of 194127.5%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202527.51068 of 140223.8%★☆☆☆☆
202418.51194 of 139214.2%★☆☆☆☆
202319.41140 of 133714.7%★☆☆☆☆
202218.51218 of 139912.9%★☆☆☆☆
202116.71094 of 122410.6%★☆☆☆☆
201913.31230 of 13388.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201815.51286 of 14088.7%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Multi-racial (2025)43rd percentile+12 vs school
Female (2025)34th percentile+4 vs school
Special Education (2025)31st percentile~ school
Male (2025)28th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)28th percentile-3 vs school
White (2025)24th percentile-7 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile-8 vs school
Asian (2025)21st percentile-9 vs school
African American (2025)16th percentile-14 vs school
English Language Learner (2022)10th percentile-9 vs school
By subject vs New York (2024-2025) ?
Math50%-9 vs state
English Language Arts44%-11 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Ben Franklin Elementary School

In the 2024-25 school year, 460 students attended Ben Franklin Elementary School.

Students who attend Ben Franklin Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Ben Franklin Middle School
High : Kenmore East Senior High School

Students at Ben Franklin Elementary School are 59% White, 13% African American, 13% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

Ben Franklin Elementary School ranks 1699th of 2445 New York elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the WNYC and the New York State Department of Health and the NY State Education Department.

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.





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