The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Social studies. The lowest is 36% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Ben Johnson Elementary School
Ben Johnson Elementary School serves about 225 students from pre-kindergarten through grade five in the unincorporated rural community of McDaniels, Kentucky, roughly halfway between Rough River Lake and the county seat of Hardinsburg. The school is part of the Breckinridge County district and is one of the district’s elementary campuses. It is a regular public school. The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of students identifying as two or more races, and very small numbers identifying as Hispanic or American Indian or Alaska Native. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
State assessment data from the most recent testing year shows a mixed picture across grades and subjects. In mathematics, proficient performance (scoring at levels 3 or 4 on Kentucky’s summative assessment) rose from slightly below a third of tested third graders to roughly a quarter of fourth graders, then climbed to above half of fifth graders. In English language arts, the same pattern appears, with lower proficiency in third grade and fourth grade, rising to just above two-fifths in fifth grade. Fifth graders also took a social studies assessment, where about half were proficient. Science results for fourth grade were suppressed, which often happens when the tested group is too small to report publicly. Overall, the school’s proficiency index sits above the midpoint relative to other schools in Breckinridge County. Still, a parent will want to note that early-grade literacy and math results, particularly in third and fourth grade, are soft compared to the fifth-grade numbers, and it would be reasonable to ask the school how it supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks in the primary years.
The school provides no data on chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access, so a parent seeking detail on those areas would need to contact the school directly. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
McDaniels itself is a very small, unincorporated place built around Rough River Lake. The housing stock includes seasonal and lakefront properties alongside permanent homes, and the community is car-dependent with no identified transit or sidewalks. The median home value across the area’s ZIP code has softened recently, and it sits well below the national median, reflecting the rural, low-density character of the region. The nearest concentration of services is in Hardinsburg, a short drive north. Growth and development data for McDaniels is not available from the sources consulted, so it is unclear whether the community is seeing new housing construction or population change beyond what the county as a whole experiences.
The Breckinridge County district did not surface any recent major changes such as boundary shifts, tax referendums, or curriculum overhauls from the research conducted. A parent moving to the area may want to call the district office directly to ask about any pending updates.
Ben Johnson Elementary offers the standard elementary program for a rural Kentucky district. A parent whose child is entering in the early grades should weigh the school’s rising proficiency trajectory from third to fifth grade alongside the lower early-grade results and consider what support structures the school has in place for readers and mathematicians who need extra help. For families who value a small, rural lake-community setting and are comfortable driving to Hardinsburg for shopping and services, the school sits in a quiet part of Breckinridge County.
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