The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in Math. The lowest is 25% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Jonathan Elementary School
Jonathan Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Marshall County, Kentucky, located on US Highway 68 east of Benton. It operates as part of the Marshall County district, which runs roughly a dozen schools across the county, including a single high school situated near Benton rather than in its downtown core. The school draws from a small, car-dependent county-seat town that markets itself as Kentucky Lake’s Downtown and anchors its civic identity in annual traditions like Tater Day and the Big Singing. Housing values in the area are moderate, running a bit below the state benchmark, and the market has seen a modest recent dip. The local economy is built on retail, health care, and educational services, with no single large employer dominating. Recent population growth has been slow but steady, and the town continues to recover from a tornado that struck in late 2021.
Jonathan Elementary’s enrollment is small for a K-5 school. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a very small share of Hispanic students and even smaller numbers of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with above-average economic need, a parent may want to ask the school about its specific poverty supports and programming.
State testing results are available for the most recent school year, though some grade-level scores were suppressed for privacy due to small group sizes, which is common in a school of this size. In mathematics, third-grade students posted a strong proficiency rate; results for fourth and fifth graders were suppressed, so a full picture for those grades is not available. In English language arts, the pattern is more modest. Proficiency rates for third, fourth, and fifth graders all fell in a similar range, with fourth graders and fifth graders showing about two out of every five students meeting the state standard. Science results for fourth graders were suppressed. In social studies, tested only at fifth grade, a quarter of students were proficient. The composite picture is one where math performance for the one reportable grade was solid, while reading and social studies scores suggest room for improvement, and a parent should ask the school how it supports literacy and content-area learning across the elementary years.
Several common data points are missing. There is no graduation rate, as this school serves only elementary grades, so that metric does not apply. Information on special education identification rates, English learner services, chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing levels was not available in the data reviewed. A parent may want to contact the school directly for details on class sizes, intervention programs, and support structures for students who are below proficiency.
The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as building projects, curriculum overhauls, or tax referendums to report. Jonathan Elementary is the kind of small, rural school where a family might find a close-knit atmosphere and a direct connection to the surrounding community, but where academic attainment in core subjects beyond early math shows a softer picture that warrants further inquiry.
See more original research from School Decision →