Area school districts are about average — according to report cards released Thursday by the Maine Department of Education — both in terms of grades received and how they stack up against other schools in the state.

Statewide, of Maine’s 415 elementary schools, 40 received an A (9.6 percent), 53 had B’s (12.8 percent), 209 received C’s (50.4 percent), 61 had D’s (14.7 percent) and 52 received F’s (12.5 percent). Of the 122 high schools in the state, 10 received A’s (8.2 percent), 18 had B’s (14.8 percent), 58 received C’s (47.5 percent), 23 had D’s (18.9 percent) and 13 received F’s (10.6 percent).

Of the 33 schools in this region, only one — Dresden Elementary School, part of RSU 2 — received an A grade. Eight earned B’s (24.2 percent), 16 received C’s (48.5 percent), seven had D’s (21.2 percent) and one — Richmond High School, also part of RSU 2 — had an F.

Release of school report cards was somewhat bittersweet for Regional School Unit 2, whose Dresden Elementary School was among 50 schools across the state to get an A — just as it did last year. But Richmond High School dropped two letter grades and scored an F this year along with 64 other Maine public schools. A total of 41 schools received an F in 2012-13.

RSU 2 Superintendent Virgel Hammonds said the RSU is proud of all of its schools and certainly of Dresden Elementary School but there are tremendous learning experiences taking place every single day when you walk into Richmond schools as well.

“We certainly acknowledge the great work and results that have been highlighted by the state for Dresden because tremendous things are occurring there,” Hammonds said. “However, I just want to point out that teachers in Richmond and the community are working just as hard.”

He said taking a bigger overview of what is happening at the schools on a daily basis would be more prudent than just one assessment on a given day.

Hall-Dale High School would have scored a C, Hammonds said, but was given a D because the state has its participation at 91.2 percent — a reduction for “inadequate participation” which Hammonds is in talks with the Department about, since it appears “they’re holding us accountable for kids who weren’t part of our school.”

Not afraid of accountability at all, Hammonds argued, “Hold us accountable on multiple measures.” His advice to the Department of Education has been to come into each and every school — even unannounced — to evaluate and take a look at instruction and how teachers are preparing children because “this one assessment approach at all levels is not appropriate.”

As an example, Hammonds said, as a teacher, “I’d never assign one assessment and say that’s your grade for a year. We would never do that to a student.”

“One reflection on one day is not accurate,” he added.

The Richmond High School juniors last year took the SAT, a difficult assessment to use as an accountability mechanism, Hammonds said, “because you’re talking about a college placement assessment for all students whether that’s their ultimate outcome or not. I think probably a better reflection will be what’s coming,” which is the Smarter Balanced Assessments which are tied to the Common Core standards RSU 2 and most Maine schools use. Hammonds hopes this assessment will provide more instructional information.

In breaking news to the students this week, “they felt terrible and I kept telling them, this is not who you are,” Hammonds said. “Look at all the great things you do each and every day.”

If parents or the public have concerns about the school’s grade he encourages them to come by the school to see what is happening in the classroom.

Richmond High School Principal Steven Lavoie doesn’t mince words: “I’m concerned that the grade we received is based on limited data,” and on the SAT primarily.

“I know we did poorly. I accept it and it sits on my desk, so I do care about it,” Lavoie said, “absolutely. It’s a reflection on my community, my school and my kids and like I told my juniors that took the SAT several weeks ago: We’re not a failure. We’re not an F school and it is unfortunate that this is the one assessment used to measure us.”

He is concerned about the impact the grade has on his hard-working staff.

“We are a small school and it doesn’t take a whole lot with a small class to have negative results make a huge impact.”

On the flip side, “these results are a snapshot of what is wrong with how we did business for a long time in the traditional approach to grading,” Lavoie said. The students who took the SAT last June had more than 10 years of “being able to scoot by and pass courses,” without having to show proficiency in each subject. However the school fully embraced a proficiencybases system last school year. Already PSATs this year are promising and Lavoie said is convinced proficiency-based education is the answer.

Next year the high school will have an extra math teacher and a math lab, and a reading lab if possible, that students falling behind will be required to attend, “and we’re going to be able to attack their deficiencies,” and reduce the proficiency gaps, Lavoie said.

As Lavoie was prepared to tell parents attending a parent meeting he held Thursday night, “I recognize and accept that we did poorly and I think I know why, and I think we have things in place that are going to help.”

Lisbon School Department Superintendent Rick Green said when he let school officials and staff know that it was Lisbon Community School that received a D, they were all shocked “and it really hurt staff” because not only has the school been Lisbon’s top performing school, “All of our interventions are at the elementary level: Title 1. We have Read and Recovery, we have literary specialists. Out of all the schools, it just didn’t add up.”

Just a couple of points awayfromaBlastyear, Lisbon Community School lost considerable points for growth of students scoring in the lowest 25 percent in testing the prior year, but it appears barely missed a C Green said. The school department is happy to see its high school gained points, while still keeping a C, and its middle schoolretainedaCaswell.

The school department has worked very hard, Green said, and “We’re not going to make excuses; we’re going to focus on the work that we need to do and learn from this and move forward.” Lisbon Community School started a pre-K program four years ago so nearly 60 percent of that first class has been in school an additional year allowing staff to identify kids with learning gaps. Next year they begin testing. The school is tracking those pre- K students Green said, and should see some big changes.

Brunswick’s grades this year are identical to last year year: The high school and junior high received Bs, Harriet Beecher Stowe received a C.

Last year, 56 percent of Brunswick High School students were deemed proficient in math. This year, that number fell to 52 percent.

“Math is usually more challenging than literacy,” said Brunswick Superintendent Paul Perzanoski.

This year, Brunswick High School students scored a 58 percent on reading proficiency.

Most schools that received A grades, said Perzanoski, are from “affluent areas” that can provide their schools with more support.

“It’s hard for tax payers to support public schools when the state keeps shirking its duties, and putting the bulk of responsibilities onto the taxpayer,” Perzanoski said.

The grades confirm that Brunswick students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as special education students, are still struggling and not meeting proficiency to the desired degree, according to Perzanoski.

“The grades aren’t anything we didn’t already know,” said Perzanoski.

The district is instituting changes that should address some areas of concern, including providing extra support and staffing for special education students, and allowing those students more access to the general curriculum than they have in the past, said Perzanoski.

Perzanoski is also mandating two and a half hours each school day be reserved in the elementary schools for uninterrupted learning of core areas of education.

Most grades for schools in Regional School Unit 1 this year are the same as last year, including Fisher-Mitchell School of Bath, Woolwich Central School, Bath Middle School and Morse High School, which all received Cs. West Bath Elementary School’s D rating from last year is unchanged. The biggest change is Phippsburg Elementary School, whose B grade last year fell to a D this year.

“No one was more surprised than I was,” said Sandra Gorsuch-Plummer, who is in her first year working as principal at Phippsburg.

In a message to parents, she wrote that fewer students meet or exceed proficiency levels in both math and reading, and failed to meet the needed growth targets with the bottom 25 percent of students.

Gorsuch-Plummer noted that the grades are only one measure of school performance, and that, based on what she’s observed in classrooms, “students are making progress.” Only 46 Phippsburg Elementary students took the test, she noted.

“If one or two students are having a bad day, it affects our results,” Gorsuch-Plummer said, adding that it is “disappointing” that this test will not be repeated next year, making it difficult to gauge how well the school’s intervention programs are doing.

Georgetown Central SchoolreceivedaCthis year, an improvement from its D last year. A school with a small population, only 47 students at Georgetown Central were tested, Georgetown Principal Matthew Carlson said. To improve his school’s grade, Carlson said educators made sure to target students in need of intervention.

“We are a small school we have some classes with less than 10 kids,” said Carlson. “When there’s a small class size, one student is going to skew that data if they’re not doing well. … A lot of it is who you’re testing that year.”

There are small schools that do well, and Carlson noted that there are two small schools in Georgetown’s Alternative Organizational Structure received As.

Carlson said he hopes his school will keep improving. “We aren’t happy with a C. We know we’re better than a C,” Carlson said.

In RSU5, which includes Freeport, Pownal and Durham, the report cards weren’t too painful. Pownal Elementary School dropped a letter grade, but they had received an A the year before, and are still above the state average. Freeport High School’s math proficiency rate soared from 47 percent to almost 57 percent. Mast Landing School improved a letter grade, from C to B, on the strength of strong math proficiency scores and improving reading scores. Durham Community School also improved from C to B, with high math and reading proficiency scores. And Freeport Middle School’s proficiency scores improved in mathematics and reading as well.

Most of the schools in the district were considered to be making adequate yearly progress, although the middle school and Mast Landing are still being monitored.

Wiscasset High School, Middle School and primary schools all took hits. Although the High School did not drop a letter grade, its math proficiency fell by nearly 10 points. The Middle School dropped a letter grade, and the Primary School went from a B to a D.

Patricia Watts, assistant superintendent and halftime principal at the primary school, said that they are alarmed and disappointed by the numbers, but have already taken measures to correct some of the issues.

“We have a math interventionist in the primary school working with children who have the greatest difficulty,” she said. “But we will probably have her work with other grade levels next year.” Watts said that the other half-time principal is a literacy specialist, and teachers have been taking graduate coursework in reading and writing workshops and other programs that will aid students in the coming year.

In SAD 75, Williams-Cone School received the highest grade, a B, while all the other schools received C’s. Bradley Smith, superintendent of SAD 75, which includes Bowdoin, Bowdoinham, Harpswell and Topsham, said he doesn’t believe the state’s grading system “adequately reflects the quality of education taking place in our schools.”

“The inadequacies of this grading system were made very clear last year,” he said. “Nonetheless, looking at student achievement is important, provided it is not only consideration given to rate a school’s effectiveness.

“We analyze our achievement data as it is returned to us. So we are not surprised,” added Smith. “Our achievement data continues to show that students with disabilities or who are economically disadvantaged do not achieve at the same level as those students who do not face those challenges. That gap increases as students progress through the grades. Reversing that trend has to start early, even before children enter school.”

Smith’s big concern is that the report cards do not give an accurate view of a school’s ability to educate its students.

“Determining the effectiveness of a school based upon a single measure of achievement gives an incomplete picture of that school,” said Smith. “There are many other aspects that one needs to consider when looking at the quality of a school. In addition to reading and math, there are other subjects that are important, yet not included in this type of data. Subjects like science, social students, art, and music are also important considerations.

“Enrichment and advanced course opportunities, along with the type and quality of co-curricular programs should be considered. It is also critical that students feel safe, respected, and included in their schools. Factoring in all those aspects will give a more complete indication of a school’s effectiveness,” he added. “We know the challenges that face our students, and closing the achievement gap for those students not proficient is a priority. I am proud of the efforts our staff demonstrate every day towards helping all students succeed.”

Smith also encouraged parents to talk to school officials if they have questions or concerns about the grades.

“They should ask what efforts are being taken to increase student learning,” he said. “They might want to know what other programs and opportunities exist, and what accomplishments are taking place throughout the school.”