Enrollment
402
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 040021200061
Benson High School — Benson, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Benson High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 28/100.
👥 Class size 34
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 47
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Benson Unified School District (79226) · Arizona
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Benson High School compares with Arizona and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Benson High School reports 402 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% below the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 30.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 36% below the Arizona average and 40% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 402 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Benson Unified School District (79226) spends $11,920 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.6% from local sources (property taxes), 45.7% from the state, and 18.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (F), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Benson High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.4:1 | ▼ 7% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.9% | ▼ 36% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 402 | top 49% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
30.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 36% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.4:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 41% in Arizona — lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,920
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 402 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 402 Top 49% in Arizona — larger than 51% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 16.4:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 30.9% -36% vs state
NCES ID 040021200061
Student demographics
White 66.7%
Hispanic or Latino 25.9%
Two or More 4.2%
Asian 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
African American 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 66.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 402:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.4%
In-school suspensions 31
Out-of-school suspensions 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Benson Unified School District (79226), which includes Benson High School.
$11,920
Per student
-21%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-39%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.6%
State 45.7%
Federal 18.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 507
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Enrollment
- 286
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 51
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 41
- Students per teacher
- 43:1
Similar high schools in Benson
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Benson High School
How many students attend Benson High School?
Benson High School has 402 students enrolled. It is a high school in BENSON, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Benson High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Benson High School is 16.4:1, which is 7% lower than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Benson High School?
30.9% of students at Benson High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Benson High School?
The largest demographic group at Benson High School is White at 66.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in BENSON, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Benson High School?
Benson High School has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.