Best High Schools in Portland, ME

The city of Portland, Maine is home to 4 high schools, serving students in grades 9-12. These schools include Portland High School, Deering High School, Casco Bay High School, and Baxter Academy for Technical & Sciences. The data reveals significant performance differences between these schools, with Baxter Academy standing out as the top-performing high school in the area.

Baxter Academy for Technical & Sciences is the clear standout, ranking #1 out of 123 Maine high schools and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school boasts impressive test scores, with 67.86% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 63.95% proficient or better in Mathematics. In contrast, Deering High School appears to be the lowest-performing school, ranking 118th out of 121 Maine high schools with a 0-star rating. The other two schools, Portland High School and Casco Bay High School, fall somewhere in the middle, with Casco Bay performing better than Portland High.

Across all 4 high schools, the chronic absenteeism rate is a concerning 23.4%, which is higher than the state average. This suggests a potential area for improvement in student engagement and attendance. Additionally, the significant performance gap between Baxter Academy and the other district high schools may indicate inequities in educational resources and opportunities within the Portland Public Schools system. Further investigation into the factors contributing to this gap would be warranted to ensure all students in the Portland area have access to a high-quality education.