The Bangor Daily News will spend the coming months examining the public education system as part of a new, ongoing project to cover what it’s like to be a kid growing up in Maine. We aim to understand why schools and students are struggling so much more than they were ten years ago, and to identify ways to create positive change.
As we embark on this reporting, we want to hear from you. We welcome you to share your thoughts and perspective in the form below. You can also reach out to the primary reporter on this series, Sawyer Loftus, at sloftus@bangordailynews.com.
Maine school districts are not consistently using science-based methods to teach reading as the state posts some of the nation’s worst scores on the subject, according to a first-of-its-kind report shared exclusively with the Bangor Daily News.
Educate Maine, a Portland-based nonprofit that advocates for education policy, surveyed Maine school districts that teach kindergarten through third grade. Of those that responded, 82% said they use at least one reading program not backed by the science of how children learn to read.
The findings offer some of the first hard evidence for something long suspected in Maine schools: Reading instruction varies widely by district, a patchwork arrangement that could help explain the stubbornly low reading scores in a state letting local school districts set curriculum.
Other states, most notably Mississippi, have made major gains in recent years thanks to strong direction from the state’s education leaders. Maine is at a transitional stage with Gov. Janet Mills exiting the Blaine House this year amid concern from both Democrats and Republicans about Maine’s years of low test scores.
“This report isn’t about laying blame. It’s about saying this is a fixable problem and we know how to fix it,” Kim Russell, director of special projects for Educate Maine, said in an interview. “Now we need leadership from the next governor and education commissioner on down to actually do it.”
Maine’s fourth graders ranked second in the nation in reading in 1992, according to federal test data. Their current 44th-place ranking is the lowest fourth-grade reading proficiency of any state in New England. Just 26% of Maine fourth graders scored at or above proficient on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, down from 36% in 2019 and the state’s lowest reading score since the test began tracking Maine in 1992.
That decline spans the pandemic years, when schools nationwide saw widespread learning loss. Maine’s own state assessment tells a similar story, with the share of fourth graders reading at grade level has been flat for three years at roughly 64%.
About 60% of Maine districts that teach K-3 students responded to the survey, which Educate Maine describes as the most comprehensive look yet at how the state teaches reading in the early grades. The Maine Department of Education does not track that information itself.
The science of reading is decades of research on how children learn to read. It calls for explicit instruction in the foundational skills: hearing the individual sounds in words, connecting those sounds to letters, and developing fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
The survey found 46 different reading programs in use across Maine classrooms, with no single one dominant. Of those, only 26 are considered aligned with the science of reading. Educate Maine’s report does not identify which districts responded. Only 18% of districts reported using only science-backed methods, while 15% reported using none at all.
“Just looking in and maybe with our heads over our skis, but it’s like, ‘Gosh, we should do better,” said Steve deCastro, the CEO of Maine Community Bank and an Educate Maine Board member. The organization’s board is made up of business leaders and educators.
A patchwork of teaching methods isn’t unique to Maine. A national survey of K-3 teachers published in April by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute found 93% use more than one reading curriculum in their classrooms. Only 37% correctly answered basic questions about how children learn to decode words, suggesting the gap between research-backed approaches and classroom practice extends well beyond Maine.
Districts also vary widely in how much time they devote to reading instruction. The typical Maine district spends just 30 minutes a day on reading; literacy experts cited in the report say a core reading block should run 90 to 120 minutes or more.
Maine is one of only seven states that has not passed a law requiring schools to teach reading using an independently studied method, the report said. The state also does not require teachers to be trained in the science of reading, a standard 44 other states have adopted, according to Educate Maine.
“Maine is late to the game,” Russell said.
The report points to Mississippi and Connecticut as models. Mississippi ranked 49th in the nation in fourth-grade NAEP reading scores in 2013, the year it passed a law mandating science-of-reading instruction, teacher training and literacy coaching. By 2024, Mississippi ranked ninth, a turnaround researchers have nicknamed the “Mississippi Miracle.” Connecticut, which made similar investments, now scores above the national average.
Even if fixing that gap requires new spending or shifting priorities, it’s an investment the state shouldn’t avoid, Tony DiMarco, a former IDEXX executive and chair of Educate Maine’s board, said.
“All of the data and evidence point to this being an important and valuable investment, an investment with a return,” DiMarco said. “I don’t think we can afford not to make it.”
Maine lawmakers set aside $10 million in literacy grants in 2024 to help districts adopt new instructional materials and expand teacher training, which Educate Maine credits with expanding the use of science-based programs.
The Maine Department of Education has since rolled out its own statewide literacy plan, aligning nonbinding state guidelines with the science of reading and pushing teacher-prep programs toward evidence-based instruction. The department has also opened access to free and reduced-cost training modules on phonics and dyslexia. Gov. Janet Mills appointed Westbrook Superintendent Peter Lancia to lead a new state reading council.
The Maine Department of Education did not respond to a Wednesday request for comment on its reading initiatives.
Educate Maine’s report recommends the state implement seven changes, with the three most important being: that all Maine districts adopt high-quality, science-based instructional materials, that teachers and school leaders receive comprehensive training in the science of reading along with ongoing coaching, and that students receive universal reading screenings and targeted intervention when they fall behind.
The work was supported by the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, an organization that aims to improve literacy outcomes for young children, said Andrea Kleinbard, the early literacy program officer at Klingenstein Philanthropies.
“We see Maine policymakers as having a real opportunity and a real need to improve literacy outcomes for Maine children,” she said. “Maine teachers deserve to be given high-quality materials and to be supported in meaningful ways that will lead to student success.”
