Best Public Schools in Portland, ME

Summary:

The city of Portland, Maine is home to 15 schools, including 8 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 4 high schools, all part of the Portland Public Schools district. The district is ranked 102 out of 176 in Maine and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Within the district, a few schools stand out as high-performing. Longfellow School-Portland is the top-ranked elementary school in the state, with exceptional test scores in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. Baxter Academy for Technical & Sciences, a public charter high school, is the highest-ranked school in the data set, with the best test scores across all subjects. Another strong performer is Harrison Lyseth Elementary School, which is ranked 71st out of 289 Maine elementary schools and has a 4-star rating.

However, the data also reveals a stark contrast in school performance within the district. While the top-performing schools excel, others like Howard C Reiche Community School and East End Community School are among the lowest-ranked in the state. This disparity appears to be linked to socioeconomic factors, as the schools with the highest free/reduced lunch rates tend to have lower test scores. The district's overall 2-star rating suggests room for improvement, and identifying and replicating the best practices of the top-performing schools could help raise the district's performance.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MEA English Language Arts (2025)	MEA Mathematics (2025)	MEA Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MEA English Language Arts All Grades	MEA Mathematics All Grades	MEA Science All Grades	Total
Deering High School	Public	9-12	370 Stevens Avenue	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(207) 874-8260	850	68	12.4	65.8%	339 (39.9%)	306 (36.0%)	108 (12.7%)	43 (5.1%)	6 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (5.6%)	24.6	91^st of 119 public high schools	23.5%		6.9	118^th of 121 public high schools	2.5%	27	48.0	40.4	33.3	$24,782
Amanda C Rowe School	Public	PK, KG-5	23 Orono RD	Portland	04102	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 874-8205	470	45	10.4	45.1%	294 (62.6%)	81 (17.2%)	32 (6.8%)	25 (5.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (7.9%)	67.1	102^nd of 289 public elementary schools	64.7%		49.9	163^rd of 288 public elementary schools	43.4%	61	75.3	57.1	27.3	$23,819
Harrison Lyseth Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	175 Auburn ST	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 874-8215	489	40	12.2	37.6%	265 (54.2%)	129 (26.4%)	27 (5.5%)	19 (3.9%)	6 (1.2%)	2 (0.4%)	41 (8.4%)	76	71^st of 289 public elementary schools	75.4%		68.9	95^th of 288 public elementary schools	67.0%	24	72.3	72.6	29.1	$22,563
Howard C Reiche Community School	Public	PK, KG-5	166 Brackett ST	Portland	04102	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 874-8175	467	45	10.2	72.8%	134 (28.7%)	209 (44.8%)	100 (21.4%)	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.9%)	12.8	269^th of 289 public elementary schools	6.9%		13.4	267^th of 288 public elementary schools	7.3%	2	49.5	35.5	14.7	$24,645
King Middle School	Public	6-8	92 Deering AV	Portland	04102	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(207) 874-8140	434	45	9.5	70.7%	175 (40.3%)	165 (38.0%)	62 (14.3%)	13 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.4%)	34.8	60^th of 91 public middle schools	34.1%		25.3	78^th of 92 public middle schools	15.2%	18	62.9	32.4	41.8	$26,149
Lincoln Middle School	Public	6-8	522 Stevens AV	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(207) 874-8145	382	42	9.0	53.7%	212 (55.5%)	84 (22.0%)	35 (9.2%)	22 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.6%)	42.1	49^th of 91 public middle schools	46.2%		40.4	53^rd of 92 public middle schools	42.4%	4	63.6	38.2	49.2	$26,219
Longfellow School-Portland	Public	PK, KG-5	432 Stevens AV	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(207) 874-8195	263	23	11.4	27.0%	205 (77.9%)	22 (8.4%)	10 (3.8%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (8.7%)	98	2^nd of 289 public elementary schools	99.3%		95.7	5^th of 288 public elementary schools	98.3%	3	87.9	82.1	76.3	$24,255
Lyman Moore Middle School	Public	6-8	171 Auburn ST	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(207) 874-8150	470	45	10.3	47.2%	241 (51.3%)	124 (26.4%)	37 (7.9%)	27 (5.7%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (7.9%)	54.6	31^st of 91 public middle schools	65.9%		37.2	58^th of 92 public middle schools	37.0%	27	69.3	42.6	55.6	$26,795
East End Community School	Public	PK, KG-5	195 North ST	Portland	04101	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 874-8228	391	40	9.7	77.2%	109 (27.9%)	190 (48.6%)	48 (12.3%)	21 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.9%)	14.2	266^th of 289 public elementary schools	8.0%		24.8	250^th of 288 public elementary schools	13.2%	16	45.7	40.7	10.0	$27,726
Portland High School	Public	9-12	284 Cumberland AV	Portland	04101	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(207) 874-8250	912	63	14.4	53.1%	420 (46.1%)	281 (30.8%)	113 (12.4%)	36 (3.9%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (6.5%)	25.9	90^th of 119 public high schools	24.4%		22.4	95^th of 121 public high schools	21.5%	5	41.7	46.4	30.7	$21,863
Gerald E Talbot Community School	Public	PK, KG-5	1600 Forest AV	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 874-8210	394	37	10.5	70.8%	150 (38.1%)	158 (40.1%)	32 (8.1%)	25 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.4%)	14.5	265^th of 289 public elementary schools	8.3%		36.7	216^th of 288 public elementary schools	25.0%	49	47.9	37.7		$29,829
Casco Bay High School	Public	9-12	196 Allen Avenue	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(207) 874-8160	379	29	13.1	53.8%	195 (51.5%)	107 (28.2%)	31 (8.2%)	24 (6.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (4.7%)	40.9	56^th of 119 public high schools	52.9%		31.4	79^th of 121 public high schools	34.7%	23	58.6	54.7	27.7	$21,803
Presumpscot School	Public	PK, KG-5	69 Presumpscot ST	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 874-8220	266	25	10.4	59.4%	115 (43.2%)	85 (32.0%)	34 (12.8%)	14 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.8%)	71.1	88^th of 289 public elementary schools	69.6%		68.3	97^th of 288 public elementary schools	66.3%	9	76.1	65.3	18.4	$25,143
Ocean Avenue	Public	K-5	150 Ocean AV	Portland	04103	Cumberland County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 874-8180	337	32	10.4	41.2%	198 (58.8%)	81 (24.0%)	29 (8.6%)	9 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.9%)	58.9	135^th of 289 public elementary schools	53.3%		75	74^th of 288 public elementary schools	74.3%	61	66.9	58.3	29.0	$27,010
Baxter Academy for Technical & Sciences	Public, Charter	9-12	185 Lancaster Street	Portland	04101	Cumberland County	Baxter Academy for Technology and Science	Yes	No	No	No	(207) 699-5500	384	27	14.1	20.1%	335 (87.2%)	16 (4.2%)	6 (1.6%)	9 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.7%)	79.9	14^th of 119 public high schools	88.2%		80.3	10^th of 121 public high schools	91.7%	4	67.9	64.0	62.1	$13,103

Cities Near Portland

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
South Portland	2.01 mi	9	63^rd
Falmouth	2.31 mi	4	16^th
Peaks Island	3.23 mi	1
Westbrook	4.34 mi	6	199^th
Cape Elizabeth	4.91 mi	3	2^nd

See the top ME Maine cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Maine Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.