The State Board of Education "envisions a State of Maine where all people, through educational opportunities will be among the best educated in the world, and will aspire to and realize their maximum potential as productive and self-fulfilled individuals, there by enhancing the quality of life for all. To this end, Maine people will reflect a high level of literacy as: clear and effective communicators, self-directed life-long learners, creative and practical problem solvers, integrative and informed thinkers, responsible and involved citizens, and collaborative and quality workers".

In the 1998-1999 school year there were a total of 210,503 students in grades K-12 in Maine.

In 1999, 78.9% of all 17-year-olds in Maine graduated from high school; the national rate in this same year was 70.5%.

The statewide total high school dropout rate has hovered around 3% for the past 10 years.

In 1998-1999 the high school dropout rate increased slightly to 3.22% up from 2.96% in 1997-1998.

This was due to an increase in the number of dropouts from public schools.

Every 7 minutes a public school student was suspended from school in 1998.

Children with limited English proficiency represented 12.6% of children enrolled in the 1999-2000 school year, an increase of 18.6% from the prior year.

There were a total of 33,629 incidents of prohibited behavior during the 1998-1999 school year, averaging of approximately 19 incidents per 100 students.

During the 1998-1999 school year, 81% of Maine's local education agencies (LEAs) and 69% of its schools participated in a project tracking data on alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use and incidents of prohibited behavior among youth in Maine schools.

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