The 2025–2026 North Dakota Student Engagement Survey (NDSES) window will be open Feb. 1–28, 2026. This year, the survey reflects updates based on student and educator feedback, resulting in a more meaningful and relevant measure of student engagement across North Dakota schools.
The statewide participation goal is 95%, which helps ensure survey results accurately represent the student experience at each school. Students will access the NDSES through a link found in the Quick Guide and in LaunchPad, the same single sign-on platform used for the ND A+ Summative and Interim Assessments. The NDSES tile will appear in LaunchPad once the survey window opens.
To support survey administration, refer to the Quick Guide for NDSES Administration, which includes step-by-step instructions and best practices. For questions related to survey administration, contact dpiassess@nd.gov.
The NDSES student roster updates nightly using current STARS enrollment data. A LaunchPad User Help Guide is available to assist with troubleshooting enrollment issues. For questions related to STARS enrollments, contact Angie Thomas.
The NDSES contributes to district accountability results. Schools earn points for both Committed and Compliant participation. Additional information about how the survey functions as a North Dakota accountability metric is available on the Accountability, Support, & Improvement website. For general questions related to NDSES or accountability, contact Amanda Peterson.
Additional details and frequently asked questions are available on the NDSES website. More information will also be added to the ND A+ Portal under the Student Engagement Survey tab prior to the survey window.
Join Us for Office Hours:
Have questions? Join us at ND A+ Office Hours on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, from 3–4 p.m. CT for an overview of the NDSES and an opportunity to ask questions.
🔗 Click here to join us!
Consistent feedback from educators and item performance statistics for North Dakota students indicate that some ND A+ high school math assessment items may not be measuring the full range of knowledge and skills of North Dakota students. To address this, we are inviting high school math educators to participate in an online survey open Jan. 15–30, 2026.
What’s Involved?
Participants will review a sample of high school math assessment items and provide feedback on whether these items are appropriate for North Dakota students based on the North Dakota Mathematics Content Standards and grade-level expectations. The purpose of this survey is to gather feedback on how well an assessment item aligns to the targeted standard and its expected rigor, and to identify ways to improve the item while maintaining alignment. The compiled feedback will play a critical role in guiding future item development.
Important Note:
To preserve security, the items participants will review are similar to existing ND A+ assessment items but are not the exact items used in the assessments.
Your insights are invaluable—please add your voice during the survey window!
NDDPI and Pearson are excited to announce the addition of a predictive feature to the ND A+ Interim 2 Individual Student Reports (ISRs). Beginning in February 2026, these reports for students in grades 3–8 and 10 will include a predictive feature that estimates the most likely Spring 2026 ND A+ Summative performance level based on ND A+ Interim Assessment results.
This addition will provide educators with valuable insight into student progress and expected outcomes, helping to inform instruction and support planning. The prediction will appear as static text within the student’s ND A+ Interim 2 ISR.
For students who completed Interim 2 earlier in the testing window, schools and districts may repull and/or reprint updated ISRs to include the new predictive feature once it becomes available.
EduTech and NDDPI will host ND A+ Summative Assessment Preparedness Workshops in March 2026. These workshops are designed to help educators prepare for the upcoming ND A+ Summative Assessment.
Workshop Format:
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In-person, regional workshops at six locations across the state.
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Virtual workshop option for added flexibility.
- Each date/location offers two sessions: a morning and an afternoon workshop. Both sessions cover the same content, so participants only need to attend one.
Dates & Locations:
- Monday, March 2, 2026 – Grand Forks
- Tuesday, March 3, 2026 – Devils Lake
- Wednesday, March 4, 2026 – Minot
- Thursday, March 5, 2026 – Bismarck
- Monday, March 9, 2026 – Jamestown
- Tuesday, March 10, 2026 – Fargo
- Thursday, March 12, 2026 – Virtual Webinar
A one-time upload of student testing accommodations for the ND A+ Summative Assessment will be completed by NDDPI in late February 2026. Approved accommodations noted in the last finalized IEP and documented in TIENET will be pulled and uploaded into ADAM, the assessment management platform.
After this initial upload, schools and districts are responsible for updating, adding, or editing student accommodations and designated supports directly in ADAM. Instructions for manually updating accessibility supports can be found in the ND A+ Summative Assessment Test Administration Manual, located on the ND A+ Portal under Administration Resources > Summative Resources > User Guides.
Important:
The determined assessment listed in the last finalized IEP on Jan. 15, 2026, will be the assessment used for the accountability score for the student.
Accommodations Management in ADAM
NDDPI completes two separate one-time uploads each school year:
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Interim Assessments – completed for the 2025–2026 school year on Aug. 29, 2025, prior to the fall testing window opening on Sept. 2, 2025.
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Summative Assessment – planned for late February 2026 (likely the week of Feb. 23, 2026).
Each upload pulls accommodations documented in TIENET and populates the appropriate accommodations profile in ADAM:
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Interim profile – first two columns in a student’s Accommodations > Edit screen.
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Summative profile – last four columns in a student’s Accommodations > Edit screen.
Important: These profiles are separate and independent. Changes made in one profile do not automatically carry over to the other.
- Updates to ND A+ Interim Assessment accessibility supports must be made in the interim profile. If accommodations are set manually in the interim profile in ADAM after the state upload, they will remain in place and apply to all remaining interim administrations for that school year—provided a district upload is not completed.
- Updates to ND A+ Summative Assessment accessibility supports must be made in the summative profile.
Did you know...as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen and improve the ND A+ assessment system, NDDPI’s Office of Assessment recently gathered feedback on Individual Student Reports (ISRs) from both students and families.
To support continuous improvement, we invited members of the Family Engagement Cabinet and Student Cabinet to review a draft version of the ISR that will be distributed to families following the spring 2026 administration. Their feedback—focused on clarity, usefulness, and accessibility—has been incorporated into the revised report and will inform future improvements as well.
Looking Ahead
In addition to the ISR revisions currently underway, we’re excited to share two upcoming resources:
- A new Family Portal designed to provide easier access to student achievement results, reports, and related resources.
- A short video on the Family Portal explaining the ISR, available after the Spring 2026 administration.
Stay tuned—more details coming soon!
Want to better understand the ND A+ (North Dakota Academic Progression of Learning and Understanding of Students) assessment system? A variety of helpful tools and resources are available to support your learning and implementation.
🔹 ND A+ Overview Video Get a quick introduction to the assessment system with a short video available on the ND A+ Portal.
🔹 ND A+ Blueprints Developed with input from North Dakota educators, these blueprints outline:
- The state standards assessed
- Reporting categories
- Distribution of items by reporting category and score points. They guide the design of both ND A+ Summative and ND A+ Interim assessments.
📍 Find them under the Administration Resources tab > Summative Resources on the ND A+ Portal.
🔹 Achievement Level Descriptors (ALDs) Also created with educator collaboration, ALDs describe what students at each achievement level are expected to know and do, based on North Dakota Content Standards.
📍 Available under Administration Resources > Summative Resources on the ND A+ Portal.
📌 Visit the ND A+ Portal to explore these and other helpful resources.
Monthly assessment newsletters are now conveniently stored in one central location: https://www.nd.gov/dpi/newsletters, under the Assessment Newsletter tab.
Starting with the 2025–2026 school year, newsletters will be available only for the current school year. This fresh-start approach helps keep content timely and relevant.
Be sure to check back regularly so you don’t miss any important updates!
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