Is Benjamin Franklin Middle School a good school?

Benjamin Franklin Middle School ranks 726 th of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Benjamin Franklin Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 705 students attended Benjamin Franklin Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Benjamin Franklin Middle School?

Students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School are 43% African American, 35% White, 10% Two or more races, 7% Asian, 5% Hispanic.

Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Summary:

Benjamin Franklin Middle School is a public middle school located in Springfield, Illinois, serving 713 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Springfield School District 186, which is ranked 675 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Benjamin Franklin Middle School consistently performs better than the district average in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency, its performance is still below the state average, indicating room for improvement. The school's Asian students perform exceptionally well, ranking in the top 3-4% of Illinois middle schools, but African American and Hispanic students, as well as students with disabilities and English Language Learners, struggle significantly, ranking in the bottom 30-40% of Illinois middle schools. Additionally, the school has grappled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 37.3% to 49.3% over the past few years, which is much higher than the state average.

Interestingly, the nearby schools within the same district, such as Washington Middle School and U.S. Grant Middle School, perform significantly worse than Benjamin Franklin Middle School across all academic metrics. In contrast, Lincoln Magnet School, a public magnet school in the district, outperforms Benjamin Franklin Middle School and the state in both ELA and Mathematics, demonstrating the potential for higher academic achievement within the district. Despite the school's challenges, Benjamin Franklin Middle School has a relatively high per-student spending of $20,979, suggesting that the issue may not be solely a lack of resources, but rather the effective allocation and utilization of those resources to address the specific needs of the student population.

Detail:

Public 6-8

1200 Outer Park Dr
Springfield, IL 62704-4409

(217) 787-3006

District: Springfield School District 186

SchoolDigger Rank:
726^th of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $23,831

Feeder schools for Benjamin Franklin Middle School:

Elementary:	Butler Elementary School
	Elizabeth Graham Elementary School
	Lindsay School
	Sandburg Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.7

Number of students: 705

Racial breakdown:

African American:

42.6%

White:

35.3%

Two or more races:

10.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 56.3%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Benjamin Franklin Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Benjamin Franklin Middle School ranks worse than 53.3% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks 2^nd among 5 ranked middle schools in the Springfield School District 186. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 41.15. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Benjamin Franklin Middle School has the largest middle school student body size in the Springfield School District 186. Racial makeup is: African American (42.6%), White (35.3%), two or more races (10.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 56.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Benjamin Franklin Middle School is 12.7, which is the highest among 5 middle schools in the Springfield School District 186! (See more...)

Compare Benjamin Franklin Middle School employs 55.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Benjamin Franklin Middle School is $23,831, which is the lowest among 5 middle schools in the Springfield School District 186!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Benjamin Franklin Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Benjamin Franklin Middle School 726^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Benjamin Franklin Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Springfield School District 186:

SchoolDigger ranks Springfield School District 186 675^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Benjamin Franklin Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	48.09	701^st	1185	40.8%
2004	57.09	605^th	1204	49.8%
2005	47.08	739^th	1209	38.9%
2006	49.01	767^th	1272	39.7%
2007	38.82	906^th	1287	29.6%
2008	36.32	929^th	1293	28.2%
2009	39.06	924^th	1318	29.9%
2010	42.00	900^th	1327	32.2%
2011	34.33	993^rd	1344	26.1%
2012	32.92	1017^th	1365	25.5%
2013	58.69	564^th	1367	58.7%
2014	59.03	542^nd	1322	59.0%
2015	70.45	302^nd	1302	76.8%
2016	51.63	571^st	1294	55.9%
2017	59.58	462^nd	1293	64.3%
2018	59.39	464^th	1293	64.1%
2019	60.36	478^th	1356	64.7%
2021	56.69	433^rd	1241	65.1%
2022	49.15	605^th	1369	55.8%
2023	39.54	781^st	1367	42.9%
2024	41.15	726^th	1363	46.7%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.55	106^th	164	35.4%
2019	36.74	110^th	179	38.5%
2021	48.75	46^th	97	52.6%
2022	35.80	116^th	195	40.5%
2023	30.08	125^th	194	35.6%
2024	30.50	109^th	184	40.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	19.16	480^th	480	0.0%
2024	19.60	482^nd	486	0.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	55.61	174^th	602	71.1%
2019	50.54	266^th	792	66.4%
2021	34.69	340^th	548	38.0%
2022	38.35	415^th	781	46.9%
2023	27.63	599^th	805	25.6%
2024	30.29	542^nd	802	32.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.49	644^th	1161	44.5%
2019	41.26	704^th	1217	42.2%
2021	38.81	603^rd	1019	40.8%
2022	34.70	773^rd	1221	36.7%
2023	24.01	1010^th	1234	18.2%
2024	31.80	837^th	1219	31.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	54.89	513^th	1226	58.2%
2019	57.68	481^st	1276	62.3%
2021	45.97	496^th	1017	51.2%
2022	49.81	560^th	1286	56.5%
2023	39.02	737^th	1275	42.2%
2024	47.32	592^nd	1251	52.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	29.72	491^st	674	27.2%
2024	37.81	355^th	639	44.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	61.62	393^rd	1223	67.9%
2019	61.62	430^th	1296	66.8%
2021	61.12	308^th	1048	70.6%
2022	48.64	565^th	1286	56.1%
2023	39.76	724^th	1292	44.0%
2024	36.17	739^th	1264	41.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	60.65	74^th	209	64.6%
2019	73.34	41^st	201	79.6%
2022	76.61	39^th	198	80.3%
2023	64.06	69^th	192	64.1%
2024	65.29	64^th	184	65.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.78	261^st	511	48.9%
2019	46.15	255^th	565	54.9%
2021	40.02	204^th	385	47.0%
2022	36.20	352^nd	573	38.6%
2023	35.42	354^th	569	37.8%
2024	27.84	420^th	548	23.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	80.49	72^nd	639	88.7%
2023	22.68	558^th	661	15.6%
2024	28.25	474^th	643	26.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	70.66	221^st	889	75.1%
2019	72.33	203^rd	905	77.6%
2021	64.28	252^nd	813	69.0%
2022	54.68	378^th	898	57.9%
2023	41.59	502^nd	895	43.9%
2024	48.88	431^st	875	50.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for Benjamin Franklin Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	516	238	5	4	2	n/a	n/a	0	765
1989	562	233	7	1	3	n/a	n/a	0	806
1990	591	253	8	1	2	n/a	n/a	0	855
1991	541	276	8	5	3	n/a	n/a	0	833
1992	530	283	7	4	4	n/a	n/a	0	828
1993	602	242	9	3	3	n/a	n/a	0	859
1994	570	257	7	5	3	n/a	n/a	0	842
1995	481	276	9	6	2	n/a	n/a	0	774
1996	481	276	9	6	2	n/a	n/a	0	774
1997	507	309	8	9	1	n/a	n/a	0	834
1998	491	300	7	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	806
1999	468	318	10	4	0	n/a	n/a	0	800
2000	442	312	12	7	0	n/a	n/a	0	773
2001	442	241	14	11	1	n/a	n/a	0	709
2002	493	299	20	11	2	n/a	n/a	0	825
2003	493	299	20	11	2	n/a	n/a	0	825
2004	482	279	22	17	2	n/a	n/a	0	802
2005	493	297	26	16	3	n/a	n/a	16	851
2006	505	289	42	16	3	n/a	n/a	18	873
2007	465	278	37	17	3	n/a	n/a	35	835
2008	403	290	35	11	2	n/a	n/a	50	791
2009	397	275	33	12	1	n/a	n/a	57	775
2010	389	300	35	7	1	n/a	n/a	66	798
2011	375	246	26	7	1	1	78	0	734
2012	342	226	24	20	2	0	81	0	695
2013	378	216	22	16	3	0	67	0	702
2014	408	239	26	19	4	0	65	0	761
2015	409	247	32	23	4	1	70	0	786
2016	394	253	32	18	2	1	83	0	783
2017	388	285	41	24	0	1	75	0	814
2018	362	287	46	23	1	1	68	0	788
2019	330	314	44	29	1	1	84	0	803
2020	328	298	43	34	1	0	92	0	796
2021	288	302	40	28	3	2	101	0	764
2022	277	296	38	24	4	1	76	0	716
2023	258	308	44	32	1	1	67	2	713
2024	249	300	49	32	0	0	72	3	705

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Benjamin Franklin Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	765	46.5	16.4	n/a
1989	806	43.5	18.5	n/a
1990	855	46.8	18.2	n/a
1991	833	47.6	17.5	n/a
1992	828	48.5	17.0	n/a
1993	859	48.5	17.7	n/a
1994	842	50.7	16.6	n/a
1995	774	49.0	15.8	n/a
1996	774	49.0	15.8	n/a
1997	834	54.3	15.4	n/a
1998	806	55.0	14.7	n/a
1999	800	55.3	14.5	n/a
2000	773	53.0	14.6	n/a
2001	709	50.2	14.1	n/a
2002	825	43.0	19.2	44.7
2003	825	43.0	19.2	44.7
2004	802	46.0	17.4	44.6
2005	851	45.0	18.9	44.4
2006	873	45.0	19.4	46.5
2007	835	41.0	20.4	48.9
2008	791	38.0	20.8	49.8
2009	775	48.0	16.1	54.9
2010	798	46.0	17.3	59.3
2011	734	51.0	14.3	57.8
2012	695	47.0	14.7	49.6
2013	702	54.6	12.8	47.3
2014	761	45.0	16.9	54.1
2015	786	47.0	16.7	55
2016	783	46.0	17.0	46.2
2017	814	51.2	15.8	51.2
2018	788	49.6	15.8	55.3
2019	803	51.0	15.7	47.6
2020	796	51.0	15.6	51.8
2021	764	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	716	55.0	13.0	49.2
2023	713	52.0	13.7	52.6
2024	705	55.2	12.7	56.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Benjamin Franklin Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	765	46.5	16.4	n/a
1989	806	43.5	18.5	n/a
1990	855	46.8	18.2	n/a
1991	833	47.6	17.5	n/a
1992	828	48.5	17.0	n/a
1993	859	48.5	17.7	n/a
1994	842	50.7	16.6	n/a
1995	774	49.0	15.8	n/a
1996	774	49.0	15.8	n/a
1997	834	54.3	15.4	n/a
1998	806	55.0	14.7	n/a
1999	800	55.3	14.5	n/a
2000	773	53.0	14.6	n/a
2001	709	50.2	14.1	n/a
2002	825	43.0	19.2	44.7
2003	825	43.0	19.2	44.7
2004	802	46.0	17.4	44.6
2005	851	45.0	18.9	44.4
2006	873	45.0	19.4	46.5
2007	835	41.0	20.4	48.9
2008	791	38.0	20.8	49.8
2009	775	48.0	16.1	54.9
2010	798	46.0	17.3	59.3
2011	734	51.0	14.3	57.8
2012	695	47.0	14.7	49.6
2013	702	54.6	12.8	47.3
2014	761	45.0	16.9	54.1
2015	786	47.0	16.7	55
2016	783	46.0	17.0	46.2
2017	814	51.2	15.8	51.2
2018	788	49.6	15.8	55.3
2019	803	51.0	15.7	47.6
2020	796	51.0	15.6	51.8
2021	764	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	716	55.0	13.0	49.2
2023	713	52.0	13.7	52.6
2024	705	55.2	12.7	56.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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