The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Benson Secondary
Benson Secondary serves grades six through twelve in a single building, making it the sole public option for middle and high school students in the Benson Public School District. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Its enrollment is of a size that allows for a single section per grade at each level, with a student body that is predominantly white and includes a modest share of Hispanic students and a small number of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. More than two in five students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school above the state average for economic need.
The town of Benson, which the school draws from, is a small rural city that functions as the county seat of Swift County. Its economy is built around agriculture and the Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company, and the downtown along Pacific Avenue contains county offices, a historic theatre, and a library. Population has been declining slowly in recent years, and no major new housing developments were identified in publicly available accounts. Housing values locally are below the state median. The district has invested in facilities in recent years, constructing a performing arts center, collaborative learning spaces, a multipurpose activity space, and a dedicated early-elementary wing. It also offers a free kindergarten readiness preschool program and begins STEM coursework in the early grades, according to district materials.
Academic performance, based on Minnesota’s state assessments in the most recent testing year, shows proficiency rates that families should look into further with the school. For math, proficiency in grades six, seven, and eight fell in a range where roughly one in three students met the bar. In English language arts, the share proficient across those same middle-school grades was slightly higher but still below what many families would consider strong. Science results for grade eight were markedly lower, with roughly one in ten students scoring proficient. Only a single year of data was available for these subjects, so no trend direction could be assessed. High school testing data was not included in the provided records, and a graduation rate was also absent from the available data; the comparison set used for this school did not include a graduation rate metric. Because the school serves grades six through twelve, but state testing data covers only the middle-school years, a parent evaluating the high school experience will want to ask directly about grade eleven and twelve outcomes, including Advanced Placement, concurrent enrollment, and college-going rates.
Compared to the other district in Swift County, overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed Benson Secondary in the lower end of the range. That comparison set is small—only two districts—so the positioning tells a family less about statewide standing and more about relative performance within a rural county. The school’s proficiency index was the lower of the two available numbers, a fact worth exploring with the administration to understand what supports are in place for students who are below standard.
Program offerings at the school itself were not detailed in the data. The district’s publicly reported investments in performing arts, collaborative spaces, and early-learning programs suggest that some of those resources extend into the secondary building, but specific course offerings, career and technical education pathways, and dual-credit arrangements were not available for this account. A family with a student interested in a particular elective sequence or college preparatory track would need to contact the school to learn what is offered.
For a family considering Benson, the school offers a contained secondary setting in a small rural town with recent facility upgrades and a district that has put some focus on early childhood and fine arts. The academic numbers for the middle grades are a soft spot that warrant direct conversation with the school about instructional strategies, intervention programs, and how the high school years are structured. The town itself is quiet, car-dependent for broader travel, and economically stable but contracting slightly. It fits families who want a single school from middle through high school in a community where their children are likely to know most of their classmates across grades.
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