The five schools of Regional School Unit 5 received a mixed bag of marks in the controversial first statewide report card issued by the Maine Department of Education May 1 for elementary and high schools.

Pownal Elementary School was the lone RSU 5 school to receive an A. The state gave B grades to Freeport High School and Freeport Middle School. Mast Landing Elementary School in Freeport and Durham Community School both received a C grade.

The grades are based on the standardized tests that are designed to measure reading and math proficiency for each school.

Despite the relatively good grades received for the RSU 5, Superintendent Shannon Welsh isn’t a huge proponent of the system, but does see some merit in the attempt by state education officials to identify areas of concern.

“I don’t believe grading schools is helpful for student achievement,” said Welsh. “However, our grades were not a surprise to us and I hope not a surprise to the community because we’ve made an effort to be transparent about our various strengths and areas we need improvement. We’ve also over the last few years looked at our students in the lowest quartile, as well as those that are exceeding the standard, to be able to support and challenge them. We’ve been trying to keep the community informed about our efforts so I’m hoping these grades are not a surprise.”

According to the Maine Department of Education, the majority of Maine’s elementary and high schools are average or above; 81 percent of the 422 elementary schools graded and 69 percent of the 124 high schools earned an A, B or C.

Meanwhile, 11 percent of elementary schools and 23 percent of high schools received a D and 8 percent of both elementary and high schools received an F.

The overall state grade was a C at both the elementary and high school levels.

At the elementary school level, math and reading proficiency as measured by standardized assessments and progress are weighted equally in determining a school’s grade. Progress includes both the growth of all students and the gains made specifically by the bottom 25 percent of students.

At the high school level, math and reading proficiency and progress each account for 40 percent of a school’s grade, and four-year and five-year graduation rates account for the remaining 20 percent.

Welsh said the letter grades are not an accurate reflection of the quality of a given school, and other variables besides reading and math scores are important.

“Our greatest challenge is making sure we provide an appropriate level of academic rigor for each student,” said Welsh. “Math and reading are incredibly important, but not the end-all be-all. We take great pride in all of our programs. To me, the letter grades are a very narrow view of a school.”