Proctor Certification Training Access
Please note an important update regarding how Proctor Certification training is accessed for the ND A+ Summative Assessment.
In the February assessment newsletter, proctor certification was described as available through the Proctor Certification option under the Administration Resources tab on the ND A+ Portal. This access point has changed.
What’s New?
Proctor certification training is now accessed through the Training option within the Administration Resources tab of the ND A+ Portal. This update places all training resources in one location and provides direct access to the learning management system (LMS) where the certification course is housed.
Updated Access Path
To complete proctor certification:
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Navigate to the ND A+ Portal and select the Administration Resources tab.
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From the dropdown menu, select Training.
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Use the sign-in or registration link to access the LMS.
All staff members who will proctor the ND A+ Summative Assessment must complete the certification course.
Beginning March 6, 2026, Pearson will extract proctor certification completion data from the LMS on a weekly basis. Files will be organized by district and made available to District Administrators in ADAM under Reporting > Report Assets.
For full details and official guidance, please refer to the ND A+ Summative Assessment Test Administration Manual, Section 2.5, which reflects this updated process.
Accommodations Upload
A one-time upload of student testing supports and accommodations for the ND A+ Summative Assessment was completed by NDDPI on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. Approved accessibility supports and accommodations noted in the last finalized IEP and documented in TIENET were pulled and uploaded into ADAM, the assessment management platform.
Schools and districts are now responsible for verifying that each student's testing tools are accurate and 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.
Pre-Administration Tasks
The ND A+ Summative Assessment is open in ADAM for all pre-testing activities to be completed. Pre-testing activities include verifying that each student's testing tools are accurate, ensuring that the appropriate users/staff are in the system, and determining and following the selected method for proctor group creation for the administrations.
Nightly uploads of student and teacher information are ongoing. Please begin reviewing, or continue verifying, student roster data in ADAM. Updates made to student enrollment records in the student information systems (PowerSchool and STARS) will be reflected in student records in ADAM through the nightly upload process.
Student testing may begin on March 16, 2026. Please refer to the ND A+ Summative Assessment Test Administration Manual for guidance on all activities before, during, and after testing.
A new Family Resources section is now available on the ND A+ Portal. This section is designed to support families in understanding the ND A+ assessment system, accessing student results, and navigating key features of the Family Portal.
While this section will continue to expand over time, it currently features the “Introducing Family Portal” document. Family Portal is a new resource designed to help families—including parents, guardians, and other family members—support their students’ educational progress and learning by providing direct access to ND A+ Summative Assessment results.
Beginning with the spring 2026 ND A+ Summative Assessment, families will be able to access their student’s assessment results through Family Portal when results are released in late June 2026. The platform will provide on-screen score information with resources to help interpret results, a personalized video report explaining the student’s performance, and the ability to download the full Individual Student Report (ISR).
Family Portal is designed to be user-friendly and accessible across devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. Both the site and personalized video reports are available in both English and Spanish, and families can switch languages directly from the homepage.
Access to Family Portal is secure and requires three student-specific credentials:
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Student State ID (SSID)
- Student last name
- Student date of birth
We encourage schools and districts to review the Introducing Family Portal document and share this information widely with families as part of your assessment communications this spring.
Thank you to all the educators who provided feedback on the high school mathematics assessment items. The survey distributed in January 2026 invited educators to review a sample set of high school items and share their perspectives.
Overall, educators agreed that the items align with the written standards. At the same time, they highlighted areas for improvement, noting that excessive text, complex formatting, and higher-than-intended rigor can create unnecessary barriers that hinder meaningful measurement of students’ mathematical understanding.
This feedback is helping guide improvements in item development. Concrete examples from educator responses have been shared with the item development team to support clearer language, streamlined formatting, and grade-appropriate rigor for more meaningful assessment of students’ mathematical understanding.
Educators will begin to see these adjusted development approaches during this year’s item review process.
North Dakota Navvy Use Grows!
📊 By the Numbers
8.7 minutes
Average time North Dakota students take to complete a Navvy Check.
37,711 Checks Attempted
In February, North Dakota schools and districts participating in the ND A+ Navvy assessment set a new record, with 37,711 Checks attempted in Navvy across the state! A growing number of teachers are leveraging Navvy’s quick formative assessments ("Checks") aligned to North Dakota Content Standards.
Where Navvy is Being Used Most
Navvy usage continues to grow across grade levels, with the highest usage observed in 4th grade math, 5th grade math, and high school math, followed closely by 4th grade ELA, 5th grade ELA, and 6th grade ELA. Navvy adoption in both math and ELA, from kindergarten through high school, continues to grow month over month.
Top Navvy-Using Schools in February
The schools with the highest Navvy use in the state represent five different districts and span elementary, middle, and high school levels:
- Jamestown High School (Jamestown)
- Williston Middle School Central Campus (Williston Basin)
- Brooks Harbor Elementary School (West Fargo)
- Watford City Middle School (McKenzie Co)
- Lincoln Elementary School (Dickinson)
Looking for More Support with Navvy Implementation?
Join one of the weekly Navvy Office Hours with Pearson's Navvy Success Partners:
Frequently Asked Navvy Questions
How can I configure accessibility options in Navvy? | Configuring Accessibility Options in Navvy
How can I archive (or reset) a student’s Competency Check? | How Admins Archive Attempts in Navvy
What is the “Standards Directory” in Navvy? | Navigating Navvy’s Standards Directory
Interested in Navvy Alignment and Item Reviews
NDDPI, in collaboration with Pearson, is exploring opportunities for educator involvement in Navvy alignment and item review activities during the fall of 2026.
We are gathering preliminary interest to help inform planning. If you are interested in contributing to an alignment review between Navvy, North Dakota Content Standards, and achievement level descriptors, and/or a Navvy item review, please let us know here.
NDDPI and Pearson are seeking North Dakota educators to participate in upcoming virtual Educator Review Meetings. Two opportunities are available this summer for educators to contribute their expertise to the continued development and quality of the ND A+ assessment system.
Educator Item Review
Participating educators will review newly developed ELA, math, and science items for the ND A+ Summative Assessment and provide feedback to ensure the items align with and appropriately measure the North Dakota Content Standards.
Participation includes:
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One-week asynchronous, independent pre-review of assessment items in ABBI
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One- to two-day synchronous, facilitated virtual review during the week of June 8, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT
Participants will receive:
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$225 honorarium for completing the pre-review work
- $225 per virtual meeting day
English Language Arts Standards Validation
Educators will review the current ND A+ Summative Assessment ELA cut scores. During this meeting, participants will evaluate current student performance expectations and recommend whether to maintain the existing cut scores or adjust the cut scores for the 2027 administration.
This review follows updates to the ND A+ Summative Assessment in ELA beginning in 2026, including the finalization and implementation of the North Dakota writing rubrics. In addition, Language Usage standalone items have been added to address previously identified standards coverage gaps. Because these updates may affect how student scores are interpreted, NDDPI is conducting a standards validation to determine whether these changes should result in cut score adjustments.
Participation includes:
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One-day synchronous, facilitated virtual review during the week of Aug. 10, 2026, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT
Participants will receive:
- $225 honorarium per virtual meeting day
Interested in Participating?
Educators interested in participating in either opportunity are encouraged to contact Kara Welk at (701) 328-1838 for additional information or to express interest.
Did you know...that since its statewide launch in December, WriteUp! has seen strong and sustained engagement from North Dakota educators and students. Following initial adoption in December and rapid expansion in January, February usage reflects a shift toward ongoing instructional use, with student participation growing to nearly 5,000 writing attempts recorded by the end of the month.
Improvements Driven by Teacher and Student Feedback
As usage has expanded, teachers and students have shared valuable feedback that continues to guide platform enhancements. In response, the WriteUp! team is actively working to:
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Make AI-generated feedback clearer, more precise, and appropriate for the intended grade level.
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Reduce mixed or contradictory feedback messages for students.
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Enhance scoring and alignment, including additional refinements to the Conventions trait scoring scheduled for release the week of March 9.
This work includes a review of scoring logic to strengthen alignment with educator expectations and with the writing rubrics approved by North Dakota educators in the fall of 2025. Educator feedback has also raised questions about instances where single‑paragraph responses may receive a “Meets” score, particularly in cases when a more developed response may be expected. While the updated rubrics do not specify paragraph requirements or require a minimum number of paragraphs, Pearson’s scoring and technology teams will continue refining the WriteUp! engine to better reflect authentic student performance and grade-level expectations. This ongoing work aims to create consistency while acknowledging the distinct roles of formative and summative assessment tools.
Thank You for Your Partnership
As WriteUp! continues to be incorporated into classroom instruction across North Dakota, we are grateful for the continued engagement and feedback from teachers and students statewide. Your insights play a critical role in shaping future enhancements and ensuring WriteUp! remains a meaningful resource for supporting student writing growth.
Feedback can be submitted at any time directly within WriteUp! or through the form linked on the ND A+ Portal under WriteUp! We look forward to continued collaboration as students across North Dakota strengthen their writing skills through ongoing practice, reflection, and feedback.
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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