COVID-19 Notice:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, state assessments were not administered and therefore data for student achievement
and student growth are not available for the 2019-2020 school year.
Based upon North Dakota''s waiver approved by U.S. Department of Education, North Dakota''s Department of Public
Instruction did not calculate the Accountability Index for schools for the 2019-2020 report cards. Furthermore,
Choice Ready data was not collected for the 2019-2020 school year. The School Support Status is based upon school
performance results for the 2018-2019 school year.
Student Achievement
Student Assessment Participation:
The “Participation Overview” graph displays the participation rate reported as the percentage of students who took
North Dakota’s required state assessments – the ND A+ Summative Assessment or the North Dakota Alternate Assessment
(NDAA), an alternate form of the assessment – in the subjects of English Language Arts (ELA), Math, and Science.
Each year, all students attending North Dakota’s public schools in grades 3-8 and 10 are required to participate in
the state summative assessments. The participation rate is calculated by dividing the total number of students who
tested by the number of students who were expected to take the state assessments in the tested grade levels.
Students who participated include those who answered a sufficient number of questions in the state assessments to
receive a score on the test. The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction works with public school districts to
ensure that all of North Dakota’s students take the required state assessments.
*Note: Federal law requires schools to maintain a 95% participation rate on state assessments.
Between the 2017-218 school year and the 2023-2024 school year, public school districts in North Dakota had the
flexibility to select one of two options for the administration of high school assessments for accountability:
administration of the NDSA / NDAA in grade 10 or administration of the ACT / NDAA in grade 11. Beginning with the
2024-2025 school year, the state transitioned to the ND A+ assessment system, which includes a transition to the ND
A+ Summative Assessment. Due to this shift, when the filter for grade 10 is selected, the data will be inclusive of
the NDSA/ND A+ Summative Assessment and NDAA grade 10 results. For school years prior to 2024-2025, when the filter
for grade 11 is selected, the data will be inclusive of the ACT and NDAA grade 11 results.
Some students may take the test for one subject but not the other(s). Students who participate but for various
reasons do not complete the testing process (e.g., illness), are still counted as having participated. Certain
students may take an alternative assessment and not participate in ND A+ Summative Assessment. This may include
students with disabilities
or students with limited English proficiency who have attended schools in the U.S. for less than 12 months.
*Student demographic details, including the percentage testing with “Accommodations”, are available in the
“Participation Demographics” tab.
Student Achievement Proficiency:
The “Performance Overview” graph shows the proficiency rates of students who have been enrolled for at least 120 days
within the school year and who have taken either the ND A+ Summative Assessment or the state’s Alternate
Assessment administered to grades 3-8, and grades 10.* The “Performance Demographics” tab includes
filtering by the test taken, grade level, and accommodations by academic year and subgroup. A subgroup is a group of
students identified by a particular characteristic, such as race, ethnicity, English proficiency, disability status,
or income.
The scale score from the ND A+ Summative Assessment places students into one of four performance levels. Student
performance on the NDAA similarly places students into one of four performance levels. Each performance level has an
associated point value: Novice(N)=(-.5), Approaching Proficient(AP)=(.5), Proficient(P)=(1), and Advanced(A)=(2).
The student achievement rates are calculated by dividing the total point value from the description above by the
total number of tested students.
*Note: Between the 2017-218 school year and the 2023-2024 school year, public school districts in
North Dakota had the flexibility to select one of two options for the administration of high school assessments for
accountability: administration of the NDSA / NDAA in grade 10 or administration of the ACT / NDAA in grade 11.
Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, the state transitioned to the ND A+ assessment system, which includes a
transition to the ND A+ Summative Assessment. Due to this shift, when the filter for grade 10 is selected, the data
will be inclusive of the NDSA/ND A+ Summative Assessment and NDAA grade 10 results. For school years prior to
2024-2025, when the filter for grade 11 is selected, the data will be inclusive of the ACT and NDAA grade 11
results. The last year the ACT was used for accountability was the 2023-2024 school year.
How North Dakota State Tests Are Scored:
The NND A+ Summative Assessment is a standards-based, criterion-referenced standardized test that measure how well students have mastered the
challenging North Dakota state content standards. The ND A+ Summative Assessment tests report student achievement at the following four
levels:
1. Advanced: Demonstrates exemplary understanding and exceeds expected level of
performance.
2. Proficient: Demonstrates understanding and meets expected level of
performance.
3. Approaching Proficient: Demonstrates an emerging or developing level of understanding and
performance.
4. Novice: Attempt made; however, lack of understanding and performance is evident.
Accommodations for Special Education in the Administration of State Assessments:
One of the choices for filtering the Student Achievement data is by selecting the “Accommodations” filters on the
“Performance Demographics” tab.
Accommodations are changes in procedures or materials that ensure equitable access to instructional and assessment
content and generate valid assessment results for students who need them. Embedded accommodations (e.g.,
text-to-speech) are provided digitally through instructional or assessment technology, while non-embedded designated
features (e.g., scribe) are non-digital. Accommodations are generally available for students for whom there is a
documented need on an Individual Education Plan (IEP), 504 plan, or Individual Language Plan (ILP).
Approved accommodations: American Sign Language (ASL), closed captioning, streamline, abacus,
assistive technology/alternate response options, braille, calculator/calculation device, 100s number table, print on
demand, speech-to-text, scribe, multiplication table, text-to-speech, or read aloud.
Federal regulations require
that a state not permit particular accommodations on any state assessment if a particular accommodation would
invalidate the assessment’s results. It is also important to remember that certain accommodations may be used on
some assessments, but are prohibited on other types because of the potential to invalidate the measured construct.
To protect student privacy, data for schools who have less than 10 students will not be displayed.
In some cases, when appropriate for the purpose of transparency, information involving 10 or more students
may be displayed in ranges to avoid potential identification of students in small demographic populations. When
utilized, ranges may be represented visually with diagonal lines or open circles in lightly shaded colors.
Please contact North Dakota's Department of Public Instruction with any questions and feedback via email to the
following address: dpidashboard@nd.gov