LAKES REGION – Local high schools were given mixed marks in a recently released statewide study on school achievement and efficiency from the University of Southern Maine’s Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation.

In the Lakes Region, Bonny Eagle and Windham high schools met the study’s standards in four out of the six categories, with both schools missing out in scoring higher than the state average on the Maine Educational Assessment test and scoring higher than the expected score on the statewide assessment test.

In the case of Windham, the average Grade 11 test score of 1140.67 was slightly less than the state average of 1141.15, and the average score of 1140.67 was slightly off from the expected average score of 1141.23. For Bonny Eagle, the average Grade 11 test score was slightly lower, coming in at 1139.89 as opposed to the state average of 1141.15, and the expected score of 1139.89 was less than the state average of 1140.23.

In Cumberland County, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth high schools, along with Gorham High School, scored the highest on the study, meeting the criteria for a more efficient school in all six of the study’s caregories.

Professor David Silvernail, the director of the center, said the study, which looked at data from 2008-2010, came about as a result of a request from the state Legislature.

According to the USM study, more efficient schools were defined as those showing higher student academic performance and a higher return on spending. Those schools are helping their students achieve more in the classroom while spending money judiciously to get the best results possible, the study concluded.

The study looked at schools in six criteria: scoring higher than the state average on the Maine Educational Assessment test (which has since been replaced by the SAT in high school and the New England Common Assessment Program in the lower grades); scoring higher than the expected score on the statewide assessment test; beating the state average of students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards on the statewide test; topping the state average of students who at least partially meet state standards on the tests; getting a higher return on spending than the state average; and getting a higher return on spending compared to what is expected from a school based on past performance. The study determined a school’s return on spending by seeing how many students met or exceeded state standards on statewide tests per $1,000 spent on education.

Gray-New Gloucester High School also only made the mark in two categories, missing out in the average score on statewide assesment tests, the expected score on those tests, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards, the graduation rate as compared to the state average and the return on spending as compared to expected average.

Lake Region High School was the lowest performer among area schools, meeting the criteria in only one category, the average score on statewide tests as compared to the school’s expected score.

According to the study, 25 schools were selected for concentrated study, including Gorham, Scarborough and Windham high schools as well as Windham Middle School. Sixteen were selected because they were designated as “more efficient,” and nine schools were classified as “typical schools.” Typical schools showed mixed student performance results in their profiles.

The study’s executive summary said: “The initial analysis of the case study evidence confirmed many findings reported in other national and international studies of higher performing schools. More efficient schools were more consistent in their high expectations and high standards for all members of the school community and implemented more rigorous curricula with engaging instruction. In addition, more efficient schools had good leadership, supportive school cultures, and many of the other characteristics found in our literature review.

“A deeper analysis of the evidence also revealed that in the more efficient schools, these features came together to form a distinctive culture: a culture that is more than the sum of the individual parts, and consists of features that cut across and encompassed the categories of characteristics found in earlier studies. What we found to be unique among the more efficient schools is a singular, sustained focus that places students and their intellectual development at the center of all work.”

Silvernail said the schools deemed more efficient were not necessarily spending less than other schools.

“It’s really how they’re using their money to get the results they are,” he said, adding that the study only took into account the money a school spent on actual instruction and learning. Other areas of spending, like transportation, maintenance and debt service, were excluded. “It’s not that they are spending more or spending less. It’s the relationship between the amount of money they are spending and the results they are getting in terms of achievement per kid.”