Is Ben Franklin Middle School a good school?

Ben Franklin Middle School ranks in the bottom 23.2% of New York middle schools.

How many students attend Ben Franklin Middle School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 626 students attended Ben Franklin Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Ben Franklin Middle School?

Students at Ben Franklin Middle School are 70% White, 11% Hispanic, 8% African American, 7% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Ben Franklin Middle School attend?

Students who attend Ben Franklin Middle School usually go on to attend Kenmore East Senior High School

Ben Franklin Middle School

Summary:

Ben Franklin Middle School is a public middle school located in Buffalo, New York, serving grades 5-7 with a student population of 626. The school is part of the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District, which is ranked 648 out of 866 districts in New York and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Ben Franklin Middle School has consistently underperformed compared to the state and district averages in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math proficiency. For example, in the 2022-2023 school year, only 23.57% of 5th graders, 13.95% of 6th graders, and 31.09% of 7th graders were proficient or better in ELA, compared to the state averages of 45.09%, 45.82%, and 48%, respectively. The school's performance is also impacted by its diverse student population, with significant achievement gaps between racial and socioeconomic subgroups. Additionally, 46.65% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.

When compared to nearby middle schools, Ben Franklin Middle School generally underperforms. For example, Herbert Hoover Middle School, which is also in the Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District, outperformed Ben Franklin Middle School on state assessments in both ELA and Math. Similarly, the higher-performing schools in the Williamsville Central School District, such as Heim Middle School and Mill Middle School, significantly outperformed Ben Franklin Middle School on state assessments. The school's declining performance and underperformance compared to nearby schools suggest that it may need to implement more targeted and effective strategies to support student learning and improve overall outcomes.

Detail:

Public 5-7

540 Parkhurst Blvd
Buffalo, NY 14223-2198

(716) 874-8404

District: Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1152^nd of 1,500 New York Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,003

Students who attend Ben Franklin Middle School usually attend:

High:

Kenmore East Senior High School

Feeder schools for Ben Franklin Middle School:

Elementary:	Ben Franklin Elementary School
	Thomas A Edison Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 9.0

Number of students: 626

Racial breakdown:

White:

69.6%

Hispanic:

11.2%

African American:

8.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 46.6%

See top rated New York middle schools

Compare Ben Franklin Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Ben Franklin Middle School ranks worse than 76.8% of middle schools in New York. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 27.89. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (69.6%), Hispanic (11.2%), African American (8.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 46.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Ben Franklin Middle School is 9. (See more...)

Compare Ben Franklin Middle School employs 68.8 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Ben Franklin Middle School is $20,003.

Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Ben Franklin Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Ben Franklin Middle School 1152^nd of 1500 New York public middle schools. (See Ben Franklin Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Kenmore-Tonawanda Union Free School District 648^th of 866 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Ben Franklin Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2006	66.11	412^th	1095	62.4%
2007	68.27	405^th	1123	63.9%
2008	68.11	460^th	1185	61.2%
2009	69.24	458^th	1224	62.6%
2010	66.28	483^rd	1243	61.1%
2011	66.30	479^th	1295	63.0%
2012	67.50	462^nd	1337	65.4%
2013	60.20	486^th	1373	64.6%
2014	47.94	693^rd	1401	50.5%
2015	37.26	885^th	1407	37.1%
2016	37.14	904^th	1429	36.7%
2017	47.10	745^th	1455	48.8%
2018	39.27	872^nd	1438	39.4%
2019	45.72	718^th	1439	50.1%
2021	28.67	935^th	1242	24.7%
2022	40.93	874^th	1479	40.9%
2023	27.89	1152^nd	1500	23.2%

See the entire list of New York Middle School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	45.32	100^th	190	47.4%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	27.90	1000^th	1170	14.5%
2019	30.02	879^th	1139	22.8%
2022	34.34	881^st	1283	31.3%
2023	33.50	893^rd	1307	31.7%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	31.25	906^th	1245	27.2%
2019	36.33	770^th	1241	38.0%
2021	23.17	806^th	935	13.8%
2022	33.06	903^rd	1306	30.9%
2023	24.96	1069^th	1288	17.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	52.47	633^rd	1353	53.2%
2019	48.09	673^rd	1370	50.9%
2021	28.85	821^st	1066	23.0%
2022	50.65	687^th	1454	52.8%
2023	31.84	1059^th	1463	27.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	27.58	1037^th	1352	23.3%
2019	43.78	711^th	1366	48.0%
2021	25.87	846^th	1071	21.0%
2022	36.31	930^th	1455	36.1%
2023	26.63	1142^nd	1464	22.0%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	6.13	225^th	236	4.7%
2022	26.43	311^th	381	18.4%

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

Rank History for African American students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	26.69	533^rd	663	19.6%
2019	20.98	570^th	653	12.7%
2022	17.61	636^th	706	9.9%
2023	18.63	616^th	696	11.5%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2019	21.43	707^th	826	14.4%
2021	23.97	372^nd	449	17.1%
2022	55.59	337^th	914	63.1%
2023	21.17	823^rd	943	12.7%

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

Rank History for White students at Ben Franklin Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	25.06	624^th	763	18.2%
2019	38.85	441^st	716	38.4%
2021	20.48	529^th	614	13.8%
2022	28.98	564^th	748	24.6%
2023	21.30	661^st	772	14.4%

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

Data source: test scores: NY State Education Department, 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: NY State Education Department

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Enrollment information for Ben Franklin Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1989	517	8	5	1	1	n/a	n/a	532
1990	519	6	4	4	1	n/a	n/a	534
1991	532	5	3	2	1	n/a	n/a	543
1992	578	3	5	2	0	n/a	n/a	588
1993	553	4	3	6	1	n/a	n/a	567
1994	570	8	3	7	1	n/a	n/a	589
1995	613	6	7	5	1	n/a	n/a	632
1996	613	6	7	5	1	n/a	n/a	632
1997	649	6	9	7	0	n/a	n/a	671
1998	675	8	6	4	0	n/a	n/a	693
1999	677	11	4	5	0	n/a	n/a	697
2000	656	12	1	11	0	n/a	n/a	680
2001	614	13	2	11	1	n/a	n/a	641
2002	564	17	5	8	3	n/a	n/a	597
2003	564	17	5	8	3	n/a	n/a	597
2004	556	24	5	8	4	n/a	n/a	597
2005	547	24	1	8	1	n/a	n/a	581
2006	516	28	3	7	1	n/a	n/a	555
2007	523	28	5	12	3	n/a	n/a	571
2008	483	40	6	13	7	n/a	n/a	549
2009	489	29	6	16	6	n/a	n/a	546
2010	443	40	15	15	4	n/a	n/a	517
2011	428	41	14	18	1	0	0	502
2012	401	36	10	23	2	0	10	482
2013	427	32	5	21	4	0	7	496
2014	400	35	6	25	3	0	13	482
2015	373	38	5	23	4	0	15	458
2016	405	42	4	28	5	0	20	504
2017	522	49	8	33	3	0	19	634
2018	511	54	13	42	3	0	32	655
2019	488	54	11	57	3	0	41	654
2020	478	55	15	67	3	0	40	658
2021	458	50	22	68	3	0	47	648
2022	454	49	17	67	3	0	41	631
2023	436	53	21	70	4	0	42	626

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 Ben Franklin Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	532	43.9	12.1	n/a
1990	534	44.8	11.9	n/a
1991	543	45.9	11.8	n/a
1992	588	44.9	13.0	n/a
1993	567	41.0	13.8	n/a
1994	589	43.0	13.7	7.5
1995	632	47.0	13.4	10.9
1996	632	47.0	13.4	10.9
1997	671	50.0	13.4	10.4
1998	693	54.0	12.8	13
1999	697	52.0	13.4	13.3
2000	680	57.0	11.9	24.7
2001	641	60.9	10.5	22.8
2002	597	59.0	10.1	21.1
2003	597	59.0	10.1	21.1
2004	597	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	581	54.2	10.7	32.4
2006	555	54.0	10.3	27.6
2007	571	48.0	11.9	31.5
2008	549	51.4	10.7	35.3
2009	546	51.6	10.6	35.7
2010	517	51.4	10.0	38.7
2011	502	53.9	9.3	41.8
2012	482	44.0	10.9	45.4
2013	496	39.4	12.5	45.8
2014	482	39.0	12.3	42.3
2015	458	37.0	12.3	47.2
2016	504	45.0	11.2	47.8
2017	634	57.2	11.0	49.1
2018	655	64.0	10.2	48.5
2019	654	65.2	10.0	55.8
2020	658	72.6	9.0	58.5
2021	648	67.4	9.6	57.7
2022	631	75.2	8.3	62
2023	626	68.8	9.0	46.6

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 Ben Franklin Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	532	43.9	12.1	n/a
1990	534	44.8	11.9	n/a
1991	543	45.9	11.8	n/a
1992	588	44.9	13.0	n/a
1993	567	41.0	13.8	n/a
1994	589	43.0	13.7	7.5
1995	632	47.0	13.4	10.9
1996	632	47.0	13.4	10.9
1997	671	50.0	13.4	10.4
1998	693	54.0	12.8	13
1999	697	52.0	13.4	13.3
2000	680	57.0	11.9	24.7
2001	641	60.9	10.5	22.8
2002	597	59.0	10.1	21.1
2003	597	59.0	10.1	21.1
2004	597	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	581	54.2	10.7	32.4
2006	555	54.0	10.3	27.6
2007	571	48.0	11.9	31.5
2008	549	51.4	10.7	35.3
2009	546	51.6	10.6	35.7
2010	517	51.4	10.0	38.7
2011	502	53.9	9.3	41.8
2012	482	44.0	10.9	45.4
2013	496	39.4	12.5	45.8
2014	482	39.0	12.3	42.3
2015	458	37.0	12.3	47.2
2016	504	45.0	11.2	47.8
2017	634	57.2	11.0	49.1
2018	655	64.0	10.2	48.5
2019	654	65.2	10.0	55.8
2020	658	72.6	9.0	58.5
2021	648	67.4	9.6	57.7
2022	631	75.2	8.3	62
2023	626	68.8	9.0	46.6

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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