Maine must not take watery school rankings at face value | Opinion
Maine School Rankings Decline After State Withholds Advanced Placement Data, Former Superintendent Says
In a recent opinion piece, Andrew Dolloff—a retired superintendent of schools, instructor of graduate education, and author of the 2022 book The Trust Imperative and the 2026 book Leading with Intent—argued that the fall in Maine’s high‑school rankings is largely a statistical artifact caused by the state’s refusal to disclose Advanced Placement (AP) test scores.
The U.S. News & World Report ranking system gives 40 % of each school’s score to student performance on rigorous college‑level exams, including AP and International Baccalaureate (IB) tests. Dolloff notes that when Maine stopped sharing AP data with the media, the state’s best‑performing schools dropped sharply in the statewide list and, in turn, Maine’s position in national rankings slid dramatically.
“Imagine removing 40 % of the strongest musicians from the Portland Symphony Orchestra; would we assume the remaining group would provide the same rich sound to which we have become accustomed?” Dolloff wrote. “Likewise, imagine removing 40 % of the runs the Red Sox have scored in games this season; would we expect them to have the same won‑loss record and be competing for a playoff spot as they are now?” The columnist’s analogies underline the magnitude of the data gap.
The decision to withhold AP results, made by the Maine Department of Education in Augusta, has left a noticeable “gap in the ranking process” for schools that offer only AP programs. In contrast, IB data—provided by the international organization—remains publicly available, allowing the few Maine schools that run the IB program to maintain robust rankings.
The column also points out that the claim that Maine high schools are among the country’s worst performers—often featured in political advertising—has been met with “blind acceptance” by voters across the political spectrum. Dolloff urges readers to scrutinize proprietary rankings, noting that media outlets “have no interest in getting the rankings right” but rather want to sell subscriptions and advertising.
To better understand local schools, Dolloff offers three practical suggestions:
- Volunteer at a local school in a classroom, office, or other capacity.
- Attend public events—performing arts, athletics, educational forums—to observe what teachers, coaches, and students are doing.
- Tune in to school‑board meetings to hear presentations on student performance, curriculum, programming, and finance.
He concludes that if readers still value the U.S. News & World Report rankings, they should push the Maine Department of Education to release statewide AP data so that schools can be compared “on an apples‑to‑apples basis” with schools nationwide.
The column’s underlying message is clear: without access to the full set of test scores, Maine’s rankings may not reflect the true performance of its high schools.
