The bad news: Maine received a grade of F in a study by a national group that focuses on teacher policies in federal, state and local schools.

The better news: Just about every other state failed as well or at best, mustered a C.

The study from the National Council on Teacher Quality will release its report, called the State Teacher Policy Yearbook, on Friday.

In Maine on Thursday, educators had not yet heard they received a flunking grade, but they were familiar with that kind of news from this particular group.

“Last year we got a poor grade from them, too,” said David Connerty-Marin, spokesman for the Maine Department of Education. “There are a lot of studies out there. We’ll get to take a look at this one and see if there’s anything we can learn from it.”

Connerty-Marin said school officials in Maine would not completely disregard the study. But officials here and in several other states don’t agree with the way the NCTQ conducts its studies.

“We agree with their ideals,” he said, “but their methodology is flawed.”

In the State Teacher Policy Yearbook report, the Florida school system ranked the highest in the nation. It got a C. Most other states received D’s or F’s.

The National Council on Teacher Quality, according to a written report, “finds that Maine’s teacher policies largely work against the nation’s goal of improving teacher quality. While the national focus on teacher quality has never been greater, the broad range of state laws, rules and regulations that govern the teaching profession too often impede rather than promote serious reform.”

• Overall, Maine earned these grades:

• Delivering well-prepared teachers: F

• Expanding the teaching pool: F

• Identifying effective new teachers: F

• Retaining effective new teachers: C-

• Exiting ineffective new teachers: F

A full breakdown of the report on Maine and those on other states can be found at nctq.org.

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