Enrollment
235
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 190483001987
Benton Community Middle School — Van Horne, IA
Federal NCES profile for Benton Community Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 28
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 53
📋 Attendance 63
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 →
The verdict
Benton Community Middle School earns a C- Resource Investment Index (53/100), with class sizes larger than 91% of Iowa schools.
- C-
- Resource Index · 53/100
- 18.1:1
- large classes for Iowa
- 19.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 235
- students enrolled
School address
District: Benton Comm School District · Iowa
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)
13.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.1:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.1%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Benton Community Middle School compares with Iowa 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
Benton Community Middle School reports 235 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 13.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% above the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 48% below the Iowa average and 63% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 235 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Benton Comm School District spends $13,301 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 40.9% from local sources (property taxes), 48.5% from the state, and 10.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-), calculated from 4 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 Benton Community Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.1:1 | ▲ 21% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.1% | ▼ 48% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 235 | top 32% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
18 smaller classes than 24% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
235 larger than 23% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
19.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 48% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher
— 21% above state mean
Top 91% in Iowa — lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$13,301
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 235 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 235 Top 32% in Iowa — larger than 68% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 13.0
Students per teacher 18.1:1 +21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.1% -48% vs state
NCES ID 190483001987
Student demographics
White 91.5%
Two or More 3.0%
African American 2.6%
Hispanic or Latino 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 91.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 235:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.9%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Benton Comm School District, which includes Benton Community Middle School.
$13,301
Per student
-23%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 40.9%
State 48.5%
Federal 10.7%
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
- 473
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 394
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 336
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 176
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
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 Benton Community Middle School
How many students attend Benton Community Middle School?
Benton Community Middle School has 235 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Van Horne, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Benton Community Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Benton Community Middle School is 18.1:1, which is 21% higher than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 14% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Benton Community Middle School?
19.1% of students at Benton Community Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Benton Community Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Benton Community Middle School is White at 91.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Van Horne, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Benton Community Middle School?
Benton Community Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-) based on 4 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.