Best Public Schools in Carmel, ME

Summary:

The city of Carmel, Maine is home to two schools: Caravel Middle School and Carmel Elementary School, both part of the Regional School Unit 87/Maine School Admin District 23. While Caravel Middle School has consistently ranked in the middle to lower range of Maine middle schools, Carmel Elementary School has seen a dramatic improvement, moving from the 182nd position out of 290 Maine elementary schools in 2022-2023 to the 16th position out of 289 schools in 2024-2025, earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Carmel Elementary School appears to be the standout school in this data set, outperforming the district and state averages in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency for all grades. In contrast, Caravel Middle School's test scores are generally lower than the district and state averages, particularly in Mathematics and Science. Additionally, Caravel Middle School has a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (44.69%) compared to Carmel Elementary School (35.4%), which may be a contributing factor to the school's lower academic performance.

The data also reveals that Carmel Elementary School has a lower student-teacher ratio (10.1) compared to Caravel Middle School (15.4), which may contribute to the elementary school's higher academic performance. Overall, the analysis suggests that Carmel Elementary School is a high-performing school in the Carmel, Maine area, while Caravel Middle School lags behind in academic achievement.

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
Caravel Middle School	Public	5-8	520 Irish Road	Carmel	04419	Penobscot County	Regional School Unit 87/Maine School Admin District 23	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 848-3615	204	17	12.1	38.7%	185 (90.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.0%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (6.4%)	33.5	62^nd of 91 public middle schools	31.9%		33.3	63^rd of 92 public middle schools	31.5%	1	62.8	37.2	31.3	$17,694
Carmel Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	50 Plymouth Road	Carmel	04419	Penobscot County	Regional School Unit 87/Maine School Admin District 23	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 848-3383	158	16	10.0	39.2%	155 (98.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.3%)	93.3	16^th of 289 public elementary schools	94.5%		67.4	100^th of 288 public elementary schools	65.3%	84	81.8	74.6		$21,047

Cities Near Carmel

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Levant	4.2 mi	1	130^th
Hermon	5.05 mi	3	91^st
Etna	5.87 mi	1	136^th
Hampden	9.05 mi	4	52^nd
Bangor	9.66 mi	11	102^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.