“Maine schools used to be among the best, but under Troy Jackson’s failed leadership in Augusta, our high schools dropped to dead last.”
Susan Collins Senate campaign
TV ad. Claim dated 17 Aug 2026.
FactCheck.org rated thisNot the whole story
What FactCheck.org found
A major reason Maine fell to last in U.S. News & World Report's state high school rankings is because the state education department stopped giving U.S. News access to Advanced Placement performance data for Maine high schools — a key part of the methodology the media organization uses to rate the schools.
Their words, from the summary they publish with the rating.
In short
Susan Collins Senate campaign made this claim around 17 August 2026. FactCheck.org (United States) looked into it and published its finding on 28 August 2026, 11 days later. Its rating was “Not the whole story”.
This check was done by FactCheck.org, not by DoesItStand. We list it so you can find it. Their full evidence and reasoning are in their article.