AUGUSTA – Maine education officials have released the latest results from statewide student achievement testing but are cautioning against drawing comparisons.

Describing the redesigned Maine Educational Assessment as a new comprehensive testing system, officials said this year’s results will serve as a new baseline. They also will be used as the basis for progress reports expected soon.

The new test measures achievement of all pupils in reading and mathematics in grades three through eight for the first time. Previously, at the elementary school level, only pupils in grades four and eight were assessed.

Officials said there continued to be a dip in mathematics performance at the middle school level, consistent with national measures. They also said that across all grades, consistent with past performance and national trends, a greater percentage of females than males met standards in reading.

Better scores were linked to what officials called a moderate amount of homework – up to two hours on school nights.

Officials also said students who reported reading more than 20 minutes each day at home perform better on the test.

Last month, the U.S. Education Department said 34 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had major problems with the tests that were supposed to be in place in the just-ended school year.

Nebraska and Maine had their testing systems rejected outright.

Every state did have testing in the required grades.

Maine officials believe a proposed withholding of $113,883 in federal funding is primarily because of the state’s use of the SAT as a high school-level assessment tool, and that federal dissatisfaction reflects a lack of appreciation for a Maine effort to promote student advancement.

State officials have sought to counter the federal finding and say the state needs to show that the SAT aligns with and assesses Maine’s Learning Results in reading and mathematics.