What To Know About North Dakota's New Student Assessment Results

Updated school accountability reports and results from North Dakota’s new statewide student assessment are now available for public review, State School Superintendent Levi Bachmeier said Friday.

The information is posted on the state’s Insights website and reflects the first full year using the new North Dakota A+ assessment system.

A federal law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, requires each state to produce an annual accountability report for every public school. North Dakota’s report is developed by a planning committee that includes family representatives, teachers, school administrators and legislators. Bachmeier said the process is designed to give schools and the public clear insight into educational outcomes across the state.

“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 grades K-8, accountability calculations include test scores and whether those scores have improved, student engagement, and the language development of English Learner students. Many English Learners are navigating English as a second language, and the state measures their academic progress over time.

High school accountability ratings are based on graduation rates, test performance, the number of students earning a general equivalency diploma, academic progress for students who are not fluent in English, student engagement, and the number of seniors deemed Choice Ready — a designation meant to show whether graduates are prepared for the workforce, the military or post-secondary education.

State data shows growth in several areas. The number of seniors considered Choice Ready rose from 71 percent in 2023-24 to 73 percent in 2024-25. The statewide four-year graduation rate increased by 2 percent. Education officials attributed much of that gain to a 7 percent improvement in graduation rates among Native American students.

Assessment and Choice Ready data for each of North Dakota’s public K-12 schools is available on the Insights website. The platform includes statewide and district-level education information. Users can navigate by selecting “Explore Public K-12” and then “Data for Specific District or School.” Some student data is withheld when a grade level or demographic group has fewer than 10 students, a measure intended to protect privacy.

The state summative assessment, known as ND A+, tracks student progress toward North Dakota’s new academic standards in English, mathematics and science. Schools are required to maintain continuous school improvement plans, updated every year, which include “strategy maps” outlining each school’s academic priorities.

The accountability process also identifies schools in need of additional support. Schools with consistently low academic performance are labeled as “Targeted Support and Improvement” or “Comprehensive Support and Improvement.” The Department of Public Instruction provides funding and resources to these schools, which are listed on the NDDPI website.

The ND A+ assessment underwent significant changes for the 2024-25 academic year. The state implemented a new test provider and online platform, added a new bank of test questions and adopted new “cut scores” to determine proficiency levels.