New School Performance Information Available, North Dakota Schools Show Meaningful Gains in Choice Ready, Graduation Rates

State School Superintendent Levi Bachmeier on Friday said updated school accountability reports and results from North Dakota’s new statewide student assessment are available for North Dakotans to review on the state’s Insights website.

A federal law, called the Every Student Succeeds Act, requires state education agencies to create an annual accountability report for every public school in their state. North Dakota’ report is developed by a planning committee that includes representatives from families, teachers, school administrators, and legislators.

“Honest competition and transparency help make everyone better,” Bachmeier said. “This information helps districts understand who to look to for best practices and helps citizens ask thoughtful questions about educational outcomes.”

In grades K-8, factors used to measure accountability include test scores and whether they have improved, student engagement, and the language skills of English Learner students, many of whom are learning English as a second language.

A high school’s accountability standing is calculated using graduation rates, test scores, the number of students who earn a general equivalency diploma, the academic progress of students who are not fluent in English, the number of high school seniors who were deemed Choice Ready, and student engagement surveys, which show the intensity of student enthusiasm for their education

North Dakota’s Choice Ready initiative is a series of goals intended to show whether students are well prepared for the workforce, the military, or post-secondary education

The number of students considered to be Choice Ready rose from 71 percent in 2023-24 to 73 percent in 2024-25. The four-year graduation rate improved by 2 percent, in large part because of a 7 percent increase in graduation rates among Native American students. Assessment and Choice Ready data for each North Dakota K-12 public school is available on the Insights of North Dakota website.

Insights provides the public with this statewide education information, as well as data from school districts and individual schools. Users may click on “Explore Public K-12,” followed by “Data for Specific District or School,” to peruse the information. Some data may not be available for privacy reasons if a grade or group of students has fewer than 10 members.

The state summative assessment, which is called ND A+, tracks student progress in learning the state’s new academic standards in English, mathematics, and science. To promote better education, North Dakota schools have created continuous school improvement plans, which are updated annually and include “strategy maps” that explain each school's education priorities.

The process involves identifying schools whose academic performance has consistently lagged behind that of their counterparts. These schools are identified as “Targeted Support and Improvement” and “Comprehensive Support and Improvement” schools.

The Department of Public Instruction provides money, support, and other resources to help these schools improve their results. The schools are listed on the NDDPI website.

The ND A+ assessment was revamped for the 2024-25 academic year, with a new test provider and platform, a new bank of test questions, and new “cut scores” that measure proficiency levels in each subject. The assessment represents the first time North Dakota students have been tested on the state’s new academic standards in English and mathematics.

Due to the wide-ranging assessment changes, it is unwise to compare results from the current school year with those from the previous year, Bachmeier said.

North Dakota families will find the new testing program much more helpful as it progresses. It will allow achievement comparisons within North Dakota among districts, schools within districts, academic subjects, and demographic groups. It will assist in student goal setting in future years.