Maine students are performing at the bottom in reading and math and it’s time to stop making excuses. The Maine Department of Education’s refusal to acknowledge this crisis is eroding public trust and is a disservice to teachers.

Despite what Commissioner Pender Makin and her department may argue, there is nothing “innovative” about using programs that fail to meet basic academic standards. In fact, a 2023 report from the Maine Education Policy Research Institute revealed that most Maine districts were using two ineffective reading programs — Lucy Calkins’ Units of Study and Fountas and Pinnell. These programs, which many districts didn’t abandon until this school year, have failed students, especially those with dyslexia, those learning English and those from low-income backgrounds.

This is not the result of COVID-19. The issue is not unfair assessments. The issue is that Maine has some of the lowest minimum learning standards in the country, offers insufficient guidance and training and has failed to ensure that schools adopt evidence-based programs. Local control does not relieve the Department of Education or the Legislature of their responsibility. At the very minimum, they should incentivize districts to use effective reading and math programs and ensure every teacher receives the training they need to implement them.

This problem cannot be fixed one district at a time. It will require a statewide effort to reverse this trend — and serious leadership that can acknowledge reality. Students, teachers and parents deserve better.

Lauren Ouellette-Whelan
Westbrook