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Ames Elementary School

Q: Is Ames Elementary School a good school?

Ames Elementary School ranks 65 th of 289 Maine elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 2-5

65^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 289 Maine Elementary Schools

Better than 78% of Maine elementary schools

Summary

Ames Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Searsmont, Maine, serving grades 2-5 with a total enrollment of 129 students. The school is part of the Regional School Unit 71 district, which is ranked 97 out of 176 districts in Maine and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Ames Elementary School consistently outperforms the Regional School Unit 71 district and the state of Maine in academic proficiency, with 72.04% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts, 75.27% in Mathematics, and 31.03% in Science in the 2024-2025 school year. The school also ranks highly among Maine elementary schools for specific student groups, such as 50th out of 251 for female students, 32nd out of 251 for male students, and 17th out of 150 for white students. However, the school has experienced fluctuations in chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 23.4% to 37.2% in recent years, which is generally higher than the state average.

While Ames Elementary School outperforms nearby schools in the Regional School Unit 71 district, such as East Belfast School and Captain Albert W. Stevens School, it lags behind some other nearby schools, such as Prescott Memorial School and Edna Drinkwater School, which are in different districts and have higher rankings and performance. The school's high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 43.41% to 57.14% in recent years, suggests that it serves a relatively disadvantaged population, but its strong academic performance indicates that the school is effectively supporting its students.

122

Students ?

11.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,613

Per pupil spending ?

56.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

165 New England Road
Searsmont, ME 04973

(207) 342-5100

District: Regional School Unit 71

Racial breakdown:

White:

94.3%

Hispanic:

4.1%

Asian:

0.8%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 59th percentile in 2016 → 78th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Maine average (68% vs 53% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 22% of Maine elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 19 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school68%

District avg51%

Maine avg53%

65^th of 289

Maine public elementary schools ?

Top 22%▲ up 19 pts since 2016

From top 41% (2016) to top 22% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Maine Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3Elementary Schools in the Regional School Unit 71

97^th of 176Regional School Unit 71 among Maine districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maine percentile	Rating
2025	78.2	65 of 289	77.5%	★★★★☆
2024	74.9	76 of 288	73.6%	★★★★☆
2023	87.1	34 of 290	88.3%	★★★★☆
2022	78.1	42 of 210	80.0%	★★★★☆
2021	61.3	79 of 228	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	36.9	174 of 258	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.8	151 of 254	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	34.1	181 of 256	29.3%	★★☆☆☆
2016	55.7	105 of 255	58.8%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maine percentile	Rating
2025	81.6	50 of 251	80.1%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maine percentile	Rating
2025	93.4	19 of 248	92.3%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maine percentile	Rating
2025	89.4	32 of 251	87.3%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maine percentile	Rating
2025	80.9	40 of 192	79.2%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Maine percentile	Rating
2025	90.6	17 of 150	88.7%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)92nd percentile+15 vs school

White (2025)89th percentile+11 vs school

Male (2025)87th percentile+10 vs school

Female (2025)80th percentile+3 vs school

Special Education (2025)79th percentile~ school

By subject vs Maine (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics75%+26 vs state

English Language Arts72%+8 vs state

Science31%-5 vs state

★

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Schools Near Ames Elementary School

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 (2025)
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
Ames Elementary School	Public	2-5	165 New England Road	Searsmont	04973	Waldo County	Regional School Unit 71	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 342-5100	122	10	11.9	56.6%	115 (94.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.1%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	78.2	65^th of 289 public elementary schools	77.5%		74.9	76^th of 288 public elementary schools	73.6%	11	72.0	75.3	31.0	$24,613
Gladys Weymouth Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-1	2 South Main Street	Morrill	04952	Waldo County	Regional School Unit 71	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 342-5300	79	7	12.1	63.3%	71 (89.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.5%)								(n/a)				$23,600
Walker Memorial School	Public	K-5	33 West Main Street	Liberty	04949	Waldo County	Regional School Unit 03/Maine School Admin District 03	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 589-4208	25	5	4.9	64.0%	23 (92.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (4.0%)	58.4	137^th of 289 public elementary schools	52.6%		18.9	260^th of 288 public elementary schools	9.7%	123	64.3	57.1		$33,556
Lincolnville Central School	Public	PK, KG-8	523 Hope Road	Lincolnville	04849	Waldo County	Lincolnville Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 763-3366	212	21	10.2	43.4%	206 (97.2%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.5%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	90	29^th of 289 public elementary schools	90.0%		92.4	19^th of 288 public elementary schools	93.4%	10	86.8	66.9	52.3	$21,410
Appleton Village School	Public	PK, KG-8	737 Union Road	Appleton	04862	Knox County	Appleton Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 785-4504	132	18	7.2	48.5%	125 (94.7%)	3 (2.3%)	3 (2.3%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	62.5	118^th of 289 public elementary schools	59.2%		58.7	129^th of 288 public elementary schools	55.2%	11	68.5	56.5	36.7	$28,955
Captain Albert W. Stevens School	Public	PK, KG-5	31 Elementary Avenue	Belfast	04915	Waldo County	Regional School Unit 71	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 338-3510	232	23	10.0	53.0%	201 (86.6%)	3 (1.3%)	8 (3.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (8.2%)	65.5	108^th of 289 public elementary schools	62.6%		68.7	96^th of 288 public elementary schools	66.7%	12	66.1	67.7	31.5	$27,255
Hope Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	34 Highfield Road	Hope	04847	Knox County	Hope Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 785-4081	140	18	8.0	32.1%	140 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	80.9	52^nd of 289 public elementary schools	82.0%		77	66^th of 288 public elementary schools	77.1%	14	78.1	67.1	36.7	$27,130
East Belfast School	Public	PK, KG-2	14 Swan Lake Avenue	Belfast	04915	Waldo County	Regional School Unit 71	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 338-4420	99	10	10.4	73.7%	88 (88.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (7.1%)								(n/a)				$26,389
Prescott Memorial School	Public	PK, KG-6	100 Waldoboro Road	Washington	04574	Knox County	Regional School Unit 40/Maine School Admin District 40	No	No	No	No	(207) 845-2424	107	12	8.8	48.6%	98 (91.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.7%)	95	10^th of 289 public elementary schools	96.5%		94.3	13^th of 288 public elementary schools	95.5%	3	85.4	75.0		$23,076
Edna Drinkwater School	Public	K-8	56 Bayside Road	Northport	04849	Waldo County	Northport Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(207) 338-3430	98	12	8.5	51.0%	92 (93.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.1%)	95.1	9^th of 289 public elementary schools	96.9%		90.5	24^th of 288 public elementary schools	91.7%	15	82.5	78.5		$26,970

Frequently Asked Questions about Ames Elementary School

How many students attend Ames Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 122 students attended Ames Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Ames Elementary School?

Students at Ames Elementary School are 94% White, 4% Hispanic.

What district is Ames Elementary School in?

Regional School Unit 71

Is Ames Elementary School a good school?

Ames Elementary School ranks 65^th of 289 Maine elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Rate Ames Elementary School!

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Schools in Searsmont, ME

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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.