Portland High School
Portland · ME · Portland Public Schools · Public
Similar nearby schools
Most similar nearby schools
South Portland High School → Deering High School → Scarborough High School → Westbrook High School → Gorham High School → Windham High School → Falmouth High School → Greely High School →At a glance
- 16 AP courses offered — Elite
- Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- Gifted & talented program
- 5 calculus classes · 3 physics · 9 chemistry
- AP rigor: Top 3.7% of US high schools
- SAT/ACT participation: 83rd percentile by test-taker volume
- 4-yr grad rate: 87% in 2019 (Bottom 39% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
From the school
Portland High School had 57.4% of the class of 2026, the seniors who graduated in June 2026, headed to four-year schools (Portland High School 2026-27 school profile). Source ↗ (page 3)
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How Portland High School compares for families
Among the nation's most academically rigorous high schools.
- ▸ StatewideAP rigor sits in the top 3.7% of US high schools with 16 AP courses.
- ▸ LocallyME sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: South Portland High School, Deering High School, Scarborough High School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
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Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
Top 3.7% of US high schools
Gifted/talented program
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-2183rd percentile by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
Bottom 39% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
Teacher workforce · federal CRDC
Teacher experience & reliability
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.
Federal Title I context
Title I Schoolwide eligible
≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program
40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.
Your state's public flagship
University of Maine
The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $17,510/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.
Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.
Chronic absenteeism
Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the most reliable early indicator that a student will leave a school — either by transferring out, dropping out, or matriculating to a charter or private alternative. At this level, today's absentees become next year's enrollment loss and the year-after's revenue loss.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2021 total enrollment.
Counselor capacity
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.
Enrollment trend & projection
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of +0.3%/year, projecting from 2024's 912 students:
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Revenue upside
At $22,251 per student in district revenue, the 14 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $311,514/year in additional funding.
District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.
Most similar nearby high schools
The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Portland High School South Portland |
Public | 2.6 | 928 | -1.0% |
| Deering High School Portland |
Public | 2.0 | 850 | +19.5% |
| Scarborough High School Scarborough |
Public | 6.0 | 903 | -1.5% |
| Westbrook High School Westbrook |
Public | 4.9 | 719 | +2.4% |
| Gorham High School Gorham |
Public | 9.4 | 812 | -3.1% |
| Windham High School Windham |
Public | 11.7 | 939 | -1.7% |
| Falmouth High School Falmouth |
Public | 5.7 | 669 | -1.8% |
| Greely High School Cumberland |
Public | 9.7 | 615 | +2.2% |
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantPortland High School is a public high school in Portland, ME, enrolling 912 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.
Enrollment is up 22% from 2021 to 2024.
It offers 16 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 96% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).
279 students took the SAT or ACT in the most recent federal count, a participation level above 83% of U.S. high schools.
Its federal four-year graduation rate was about 87% in the latest EDFacts release.
It has about 228 students per school counselor.
31% of its students were chronically absent in 2020.
Portland High School had 57.4% of the class of 2026, the seniors who graduated in June 2026, headed to four-year schools (Portland High School 2026-27 school profile).
Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (enrollment), the federal Civil Rights Data Collection and EDFacts, state education agencies where named, and the school's own published documents where named.
Questions families ask
How many AP courses does Portland High School offer? Portland High School offers 16 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 96% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).
What is Portland High School's graduation rate? Portland High School's federal four-year graduation rate was about 87% in the latest EDFacts release.
How many students attend Portland High School? Portland High School is a public high school in Portland, ME, enrolling 912 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
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Related reading
AP courses · October 2026
Test scores · October 2026