Kirsten Baesler Superintendent | North Dakota Department of Public Instruction
Updated school accountability reports and results from North Dakota’s new statewide student assessment are now available for public review on the state’s Insights website, according to State School Superintendent Levi Bachmeier.
The release of this information fulfills requirements under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which mandates that each state education agency produce an annual accountability report for every public school. In North Dakota, a planning committee comprising families, teachers, administrators, and legislators develops the report.
“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.”
For students in grades K-8, accountability is measured by test scores and their improvement over time, student engagement levels, and language proficiency among English Learner students. High school accountability factors include graduation rates, test scores, general equivalency diploma attainment, academic progress of non-fluent English speakers, the number of seniors considered Choice Ready, and results from student engagement surveys.
The Choice Ready initiative aims to determine if students are prepared for work, military service, or further education after high school. The percentage of students deemed Choice Ready increased from 71 percent in 2023-24 to 73 percent in 2024-25. Additionally, the four-year graduation rate improved by two percentage points overall—driven largely by a seven-point increase among Native American students. Assessment and Choice Ready data for all North Dakota K-12 public schools can be found on the Insights of North Dakota website.
The Insights platform provides access to statewide education data as well as district- and school-level information. Users can explore specific districts or schools through the site’s interface; however, some data may be withheld if it pertains to groups with fewer than ten students for privacy reasons.
North Dakota’s summative assessment program has been updated for the 2024-25 academic year. Now called ND A+, it tracks student learning in English language arts, mathematics, and science based on new state standards. The revised assessment features a new provider and platform along with updated question banks and proficiency benchmarks (“cut scores”). This marks the first administration of tests aligned with recently adopted academic standards in English and mathematics.
Bachmeier cautioned against comparing current year results with previous years due to these significant changes: “Due to the wide-ranging assessment changes, it is unwise to compare results from the current school year with those from the previous year.”
Continuous improvement plans have also been implemented across schools statewide. These plans are updated annually and include strategy maps outlining each school’s educational priorities. Schools identified as consistently underperforming are designated as Targeted Support and Improvement or Comprehensive Support and Improvement schools; these institutions receive additional resources from the Department of Public Instruction.
Bachmeier noted that families will benefit more from the new testing program as it matures: “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.”
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