Summary
Kiona-Benton City Elementary is a PK–5 school serving 620 students in Benton City, a smaller community in southeastern Washington, and is part of the Kiona-Benton City School District. The district ranks 233rd of 238 Washington districts, or at the 2nd percentile statewide. The school ranked at the 5th percentile in 2025–26, up from the 2nd percentile the prior year, but it remains near the bottom statewide. Nearby comparison schools are roughly 5.7 to 10.6 miles away and belong to the higher-ranked Richland School District.
Academic performance is the most important concern. In 2025–26, proficiency was 19.43% in English language arts, 18.15% in math, and 23.66% in science—well below Washington rates of 52.81%, 43.11%, and 50.95%. The school also had the lowest results in all three subjects among the ten nearby schools. For perspective, Orchard Elementary posted 69.81% ELA, 69.81% math, and 70.64% science proficiency, while Desert Sky Elementary reached 68.88%, 67.36%, and 79.76%. Even Jason Lee Elementary, the closest comparison in performance, was considerably higher.
Results have been persistently low rather than reflecting a single difficult year. Fourth-grade ELA proficiency was 13.40%, and math fell from 29.67% in third grade to 14.74% in fourth grade and 10.53% in fifth grade, making upper-elementary math an especially urgent focus. Math is nevertheless the school’s strongest subject relative to its own district, exceeding the district rate by 5.69 points. The school reports a favorable 15.0:1 student-teacher ratio and midrange spending of $17,959 per student, so staffing levels and spending alone do not explain the gap. Families may want to look for evidence of strong literacy instruction, intensive intervention, consistent attendance support, and a clear plan for improving upper-grade math. The reported free/reduced-price lunch rate also changed sharply from 82.08% in 2023–24 to 18.23% in 2024–25, making that figure worth interpreting cautiously.
Thank you for your feedback!