Enrollment
100
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Benton, PA
Benton Area Ms
Federal NCES profile for Benton Area Ms, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 420339007644
👥 S:T ratio 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Benton Area Ms earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Pennsylvania.
- #3 of 3
- public schools in Benton · Resource Index
- 41
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.1:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 50.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Benton Area Ms has class sizes smaller than 83% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Benton Area Ms ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Benton, PA.
School address
District: Benton Area Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 420339007644 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.1:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
50.0%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Benton Area Ms compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Benton Area Ms
Benton Area Ms is a higher-need, small middle school in Benton, Pennsylvania, enrolling 100 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 50.0% lands close to the Pennsylvania typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 96% of Pennsylvania schools, with 100 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Among 27 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Pennsylvania schools statewide, it ranks #25, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (95% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 10/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 500 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Benton Area Sd also operates Appleman El Sch (308 students) and Benton Area Hs (200 students) alongside Benton Area Ms.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Benton Area Ms compares
Benton Area Ms on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.1:1 | ▼ 18% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 50.0% | ▼ 14% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 100 | top 96% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.1:1
Leaner classes than 82% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
100
Bigger than 10% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
50.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 14% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.1:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 17% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
25.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$19,746
per pupil, district-wide
- above Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 95.0%
African American 4.0%
Hispanic or Latino 1.0%
Largest group: White at 95.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 9.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 9.6, Benton Area Ms is less mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Benton Area Sd, which includes Benton Area Ms.
$19,746
Per student
+10%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 48.5%
State 42.4%
Federal 9.1%
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.
How Benton Area Ms Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appleman El Sch | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Benton Area Hs | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Benton Area Ms's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 308
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 200
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~100 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Benton Area Ms's federal record.
- Compare Benton Area Ms against another school. Compare schools
- Benton Area Sd's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Benton Area Ms
How many students attend Benton Area Ms?
Benton Area Ms has 100 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Benton, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Benton Area Ms?
The student-teacher ratio at Benton Area Ms is 11.1:1, which is 18% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 29% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Benton Area Ms?
50.0% of students at Benton Area Ms are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Benton Area Ms?
The largest demographic group at Benton Area Ms is White at 95.0% of enrollment, in Benton, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Benton Area Ms?
Benton Area Ms has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Benton Area Ms rank among public schools in Benton?
By Resource Investment Index, Benton Area Ms ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Benton, PA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Benton on the city page.
Is Benton Area Ms a good school?
Benton Area Ms earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in Pennsylvania. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Benton Area Sd?
Besides Benton Area Ms, Benton Area Sd also operates Appleman El Sch (308 students) and Benton Area Hs (200 students). See the Benton Area Sd district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.