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Education

Maine's public schools taught about 166,127 K-12 students in 2024 — down roughly 22% from the mid-1990s peak. How those students score on national tests, and how the rolls have thinned, are below.

166,127

public K-12 students, 2024

Student achievement (NAEP)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress — the “Nation’s Report Card” — tests a representative sample of students every few years on a common scale. Maine long scored above the national average, but the pandemic erased much of that edge: scores fell sharply after 2019, and by 2024 Maine trailed the U.S. in 4th-grade math and in reading at both grades, keeping a slim lead only in 8th-grade math. Scores are not comparable across subjects or grades (each uses its own scale).

Math, 8th grade

Average NAEP scale score — Maine vs. the U.S.

Show data table
Math, 8th grade — data table
YearMaineUs
2,009286.4281.7
2,011288.7282.7
2,013288.7283.6
2,015284.9281.3
2,017284282
2,019282.4281
2,022272.5273.1
2,024272.6272.2

Source: NAEP (The Nation's Report Card)

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Reading, 8th grade

Average NAEP scale score — Maine vs. the U.S.

Show data table
Reading, 8th grade — data table
YearMaineUs
2,009267.7262.3
2,011269.9263.6
2,013269.2266
2,015268.4264
2,017268.9265.3
2,019265.2262
2,022256.7259.1
2,024255256.7

Source: NAEP (The Nation's Report Card)

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Math, 4th grade

Average NAEP scale score — Maine vs. the U.S.

Source: NAEP (The Nation's Report Card)

Reading, 4th grade

Average NAEP scale score — Maine vs. the U.S.

Source: NAEP (The Nation's Report Card)

Enrollment

Maine has one of the oldest populations in the country, and its school rolls show it: public K-12 enrollment has fallen by roughly 22% since the mid-1990s — a long, steady decline with real consequences for school budgets and staffing.

Public K-12 enrollment

Fall enrollment in Maine public schools, all grades, by year

Show data table
Public K-12 enrollment — data table
YearStudents
2,001205,395
2,002203,966
2,003201,651
2,004198,820
2,005195,498
2,006193,986
2,007190,737
2,008187,484
2,009184,232
2,010183,477
2,011178,989
2,012180,274
2,013178,842
2,014177,287
2,015176,412
2,016175,402
2,017175,324
2,018175,254
2,019175,126
2,020167,395
2,021168,236
2,022168,937
2,023167,702
2,024166,127

Most recent 24 of 39 rows shown.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data (via Urban Institute)

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Spending

Current spending per pupil — total day-to-day operating expenditures divided by enrollment — has risen steadily, with a sharp jump in 2020 as federal pandemic relief flowed in and enrollment fell. School-finance data is reported on a long lag, so the most recent year here is 2020.

Current spending per pupil

Total current expenditures ÷ enrollment, Maine public schools

Show data table
Current spending per pupil — data table
YearPerPupil
1,9976,685
1,9987,146
1,9997,604
2,0008,173
2,0018,708
2,0029,240
2,0039,723
2,00410,316
2,00510,806
2,00611,661
2,00711,987
2,00812,362
2,00912,346
2,01012,607
2,01112,259
2,01212,463
2,01313,005
2,01413,526
2,01513,603
2,01614,099
2,01714,571
2,01814,954
2,01915,186
2,02017,642

Most recent 24 of 29 rows shown.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data (via Urban Institute)

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Test scores are average scale scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), comparing Maine with the national public average for the same grade and subject; figures come from the NAEP Data Service. Enrollment is fall membership from the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data (NCES), accessed through the Urban Institute’s Education Data Portal; per-pupil spending divides total current expenditures from the same CCD finance file by fall membership. Scores and the CCD figures come from separate sources and are not combined within any chart.