Maine’s State Highlights

Summary of Grades

Maine earns lower-than-average scores in three of the four graded policy categories in Quality Counts.

The state performs more poorly than the average state in standards and accountability. In particular, Maine lags behind in the area of standards, where the American Federation of Teachers has rated only its science standards as clear, specific, and grounded in content at all three grade spans.

Maine ranks close to the bottom of the nation for its efforts to improve teacher quality. There is considerable room for improvement in linking initial licensure and more advanced certification to assessments for prospective and veteran teachers. The state also has few measures in place to hold schools and teacher-preparation programs accountable for teacher quality.

The state ranks among the top states on measures of school climate, scoring particularly well in the areas of school size and school facilities. The percentage of the state’s students attending smaller schools is among the highest in the nation. Maine also tracks the condition of all school facilities and provides support for capital outlays or construction.

Maine’s grade in resource equity is slightly lower than average. Its coefficient-of-variation score, for example, falls close to that of the average state. This means that Maine has a moderate degree of disparity in per-pupil funding levels across districts in the state.

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.