K-12 EDUCATION

By the time students leave high school, they should be prepared for post-secondary education or a career. Traditionally, progress throughout the K-12 system is measured by student performance on standardized tests such as the annual Maine Educational Assessments. Test score data is not available for 2020 due to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. While these assessments are important for understanding what Maine students know and can do – and also for identifying where there are disparities among groups of students – they do not provide the whole picture.

Student success in school is influenced by many factors outside of academics. This year’s report highlights some of those factors.

STUDENT WELL-BEING

Are Maine students healthy and ready to learn? Factors such as childhood trauma and mental health can influence whether students are well positioned to succeed academically.

MENTAL HEALTH

Mental health is an enormous challenge given the isolation and uncertainty posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This challenge exists for students statewide. The Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey contains the most detailed information about student health and well-being. They survey is administered to Maine students in grades 5-12 to learn more about their health behaviors and attitudes regarding areas like substance use, mental health, protective factors, etc. The percentages below refer to students agreeing with the statement “Have you ever felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that you stopped doing some usual activities?” Note: data is from PRIOR to the COVID-19 pandemic. Updated results are expected in early 2022.

1 In 4 Maine middle school students and nearly 1 in 3 Maine high school students report feeling sad or hopeless for two weeks or more.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

25%

Source: Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (2019).

HIGH SCHOOL

32%

Source: Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (2019).

Girls report significantly higher rates of feeling sad and hopeless compared to boys. The rates are higher for both groups in high school compared to middle school.

In middle school, girls report feeling sad or hopeless at nearly twice the rate of boys.

There is wide variation in reported rates of feeling sad and hopeless among middle school and high school students when looking across racial and ethnic groups.

Percent of students reporting feeling sad and hopeless in MIDDLE SCHOOL

Native Hawaiian/OPI* - 44%

Hispanic - 39%

Two or More Races - 35%

American Indian/AN* - 32%

Asian - 30%

Black/AA* - 25%

White - 24%

Percent of students reporting feeling sad and hopeless in HIGH SCHOOL

Native Hawaiian/OPI* - 44%

Two or More Races - 42%

American Indian/Alaska Native - 40%

Hispanic - 40%

White - 32%

Black/African American - 31%

Asian - 26%

*AN = Alaska Native; AA = African American; OPI = Other Pacific Islander. Note: interpret percentages with caution due to sample sizes. Full details are available here.

The percentages of students who report feeling sad and hopeless vary by county. At the middle school level, they range from a low of 21% in Aroostook and Penobscot counties to a high of 35% in Washington County. At the high school level they range from a low of 29% in Knox County to a high of 38% in Waldo County. Learn more about students’ mental health in your county in the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey.

ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic experiences that occur prior to a young person turning 18 years old. Some examples of adverse childhood experiences are experiencing a death in the family, divorce, violence, and substance abuse. ACEs can have deep and long-lasting negative implications on health and wellbeing as well as on an individual’s education and career outcomes.

Maine can continue to work to prevent ACEs by investing in families and communities and by promoting safe, stable, nurturing environments and relationships everywhere that children live, learn, and play. For a snapshot of ACEs data in Maine and its impact on youth outcomes, check out this infographic from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the Maine Department of Education.

Note: at this time, data on ACEs in Maine is only available at the high school level.

1 in 5 Maine high school students have experienced four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences.

21%

Source: Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (2019).

Girls are far more likely to have experienced 4+ ACEs than boys.

Asian youth are least likely to report experiencing 4 or more ACEs.

American Indian - 33%

Native Hawaiian/OPI* - 32%

Hispanic - 31%

Two or More Races - 29%

White - 21%

Black - 20%

Asian - 14%

*OPI = Other Pacific Islander.

MATTERING

Feeling as though one matters in their community is an important protective factor that can guard against depression and potentially even heal trauma. Yet over 40% of Maine students don’t agree that they matter. These data points are from the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (2019). The question was “Do you agree or disagree that in your community you feel like you matter to people?” The percentages here represent those students responding “Strongly Agree” or “Agree.”

Slightly more than half of middle and high school students report feeling like they matter in their community.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

59%

Source: Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (2019).

HIGH SCHOOL

57%

Source: Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (2019).

Boys report feeling like they matter in their community at a higher rate than girls do.

The gap is 8 points in middle school and 9 points in high school.

White students report feeling like they matter in their community at higher rates than students of other racial/ethnic groups in both middle school and high school.

Percent of students reporting that they feel like they matter in MIDDLE SCHOOL

White - 60%

Black/African American - 57%

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander - 57%

Hispanic - 54%

Asian - 53%

American Indian/Alaska Native - 53%

Two or More Races - 50%

Percent of students reporting that they feel like they matter in HIGH SCHOOL

White - 57%

Asian - 56%

Black/African American - 55%

Hispanic - 54%

American Indian/Alaska Native - 53%

Two or More Races - 51%

Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander - 49%

The percentages of students who report feeling like they matter in their community vary by county. At the middle school level, they range from a low of 51% in Piscataquis County to a high of 64% in Cumberland County. At the high school level, they range from a low of 47% in Piscataquis County to a high of 65% in Knox County.

STUDENT RESOURCES

Do students have access to the tools they need for 21st century learning? The Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI) paved the way for technology access for Maine students. Yet far too many students don’t have access to high-speed internet, which is increasingly necessary to participate in educational activities.

23,483

The number of Maine students without access to high-speed internet access at home. High-speed internet is increasingly necessary to complete homework assignments and access remote learning.

Source: Maine DOE Connect Kids Now! Data*

*This data was collected at various times throughout the pandemic.

10,570

The number of Maine students requiring devices at the outset of the pandemic in order to complete schoolwork.

Source: Maine DOE Connect Kids Now! Data*

*This data was collected at various times throughout the pandemic.

Reasons provided by families about why high-speed internet is not available at home

33% No/low broadband
16% No/low cellular
11% Neither broadband nor cellular
40% Affordability

Source: Maine DOE Connect Kids Now! Data*

*This data was collected at various times throughout the pandemic.

CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Maine’s career and technical education centers offer hands-on education that prepares students for college and career. Breaking down barriers to accessing CTE courses will increase the number of students participating in this educational pathway and increase the number of students who graduate with a credential of value for the workplace.

27

The number of career and technical education centers in Maine.

83

The number of programs offered across all Maine CTE schools. Examples include Culinary Arts, Early Childhood Education, Graphic Design, and Plumbing & Heating.

9,164

The number of Maine students enrolled in CTE programs during the 2021-22 school year.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

How many Maine high school students graduate within four years?

87% of Maine students graduate from high school in four years.

Graduation rates stayed consistent between 2019 and 2020. This is an increase in the past ten years: in 2010, Maine’s graduation rate was 83%. 2021 graduation rate data will be added to this site shortly.

87%

Source: New England Secondary School Consortium Common Data Project (2021 report, 2020 data).

Maine’s statewide high school graduation rate has increased slightly over the past 10 years.

Note: the graduation rate was 87.5% in 2019 and 87.4% in 2020 – essentially unchanged, but may appear as a dip based on rounding.

Female students graduate at a rate 5 percentage points higher than their male counterparts.

There is a 16-point gap in the graduation rate between economically disadvantaged students and their higher income peers.

Asian/Pacific Islander students and White students graduate at higher rates than other racial/ethnic groups.

Asian/Pacific Islander - 89%

White - 88%

Black/African American - 83%

Two or More Races - 82%

Hispanic - 82%

Note: Due to small sample size, data was not available for American Indian students in 2020.

LEARN MORE

Data & Reports

Student Well-Being Initiatives

Nonprofit Initiatives

Additional Resources

Educate Maine Policy Briefs

In addition to the annual Education Indicators Report, Educate Maine publishes occasional policy briefs that touch on important issues related to education and workforce development in Maine. Recent briefs explore higher education, student assessment, and education funding. You can read all briefs here.