Historical Public Education Information In North Dakota

in North Dakota

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Education policy in the U.S.

Public education in the U.S.

School choice in the U.S.

Charter schools in the U.S.

Higher education in the U.S.

Glossary of education terms

Education statistics

This page contains archived information on North Dakota's public education system, primarily from 2011-2012, but also from other years due to the availability of data at the time it was written. For more recent information, view North Dakota's public education page.

The North Dakota public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2012 North Dakota had 97,646 students enrolled in a total of 513 schools in 223 school districts. There were 8,525 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 12 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. There was roughly one administrator for every 216 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average North Dakota spent $11,420 per pupil in 2011, which ranked it 18th highest in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 87 percent in 2012.^[1][2]

State agencies[edit]

See also: North Dakota Department of Education

The mission statement of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction reads:^[3]

The Superintendent of Public Instruction is the chief administrator of the Department of Public Instruction. The Superintendent of Public Instruction is elected to four-year terms. As of June 2015, the current officeholder was Kirsten Baesler.^[5][6]

The State Board of Public School Education is responsible for "final approval of all school district reorganizations, annexations and dissolution plans." Board members serve six-year terms. The board is composed of seven members, six of whom are appointed by the governor. The composition of the board is as follows:^[7][8]

• The Superintendent of Public Instruction
• A representative for Barnes, Cass, Grand Forks, Griggs, Nelson, Steele, and Trail Counties
• A representative for Benson, Bottineau, Cavalier, McHenry, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Renville, Rolette, Towner, and Walsh Counties
• A representative for Dickey, Emmons, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, and Sargent Counties
• A representative for Burleigh, Eddy, Foster, Kidder, McLean, Sheridan, Stutsman, and Wells Counties
• A representative for Burke, Divide, McKenzie, Mountrail, Ward, and Williams Counties
• A representative for Adams, Billings, Bowman, Dunn, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Mercer, Morton, Oliver, Sioux, Slope, and Stark Counties

Regional comparison[edit]

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how North Dakota compared to three neighboring states in school year 2011-2012 with respect to number of students, schools, the number of teachers per pupil, and the number of administrators per pupil. Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Demographics[edit]

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in North Dakota as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for school year 2011-2012.^[9]

Enrollments by region type[edit]

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

A plurality of students in North Dakota attended rural schools in school year 2011-2012. More than 65 percent of the state's students attended rural or town schools, compared to approximately 35 percent who attended city or suburban schools.

Academic performance[edit]

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores[edit]

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Compared to three neighboring states (Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming), North Dakota had the highest share of eighth grade students who scored at or above proficient in math in school year 2012-2013.^[10]

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores[edit]

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for North Dakota and surrounding states for the years 2012 and 2013.^[10][11][12]

Dropout rate[edit]

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for North Dakota was on par with the national average at 3.3 percent in the 2010-2011 school year. The dropout rate was lower than the national average at 3 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.^[13]

Educational choice options[edit]

See also: School choice in North Dakota

As of June 2015, school choice options in North Dakota included inter-district open enrollment and online learning programs. In addition, about 7.05 percent of school-age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-2012 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in school year 2012-2013.

Education funding and expenditures[edit]

See also: North Dakota state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2012
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), North Dakota spent approximately 13.8 percent of its fiscal year 2012 budget on elementary and secondary education. As a share of the budget, this was down by 0.70 percentage points, or 4.8 percent, from fiscal year 2008, when the state spent 14.5 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education.^{[14][15][16][17][18]}

Revenue breakdowns[edit]

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system revenues in North Dakota totaled approximately $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including revenue sources, for North Dakota and surrounding states.^[19]

Expenditure breakdowns[edit]

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures in North Dakota totaled approximately $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2011. The table and chart below present further detail, including expenditure types, for North Dakota and surrounding states.^[19]

Personnel salaries[edit]

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in North Dakota, the average salary increased by 16 percent.^[21]

Organizations[edit]

Unions[edit]

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas, including: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. North Dakota ranked 24th overall, or "average," which was in the third of five tiers.^[22]

The main union related to the North Dakota school system is the North Dakota Education Association (NDEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA). For the 2003 tax period NDEA had: $2.22 million in total revenue, $2.22 million in total expenses and $2.42 million in total assets.^[23]

List of local North Dakota school unions:^[24]

• North Dakota Education Association
• AFT Bismark
• West Fargo Education Association
• Bismarck Education Association

Taxpayer-funded lobbying[edit]

See also: North Dakota government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the North Dakota School Boards Association. Another statewide association is the North Dakota Retired Teachers Association.

Transparency[edit]

In May 2009, legislation (Senate Bill 2018) passed that mandated the creation of a statewide spending transparency website by June 30, 2011.^[25]

Studies and reports[edit]

State Budget Solutions education study[edit]

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

See also[edit]

• Public education in North Dakota
• North Dakota
• Education Policy in the U.S.

Footnotes[edit]

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