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In the State Capital, Just Over Half of Native American Students Graduate on Time
Correction (July 20, 2026): An earlier version understated the historical range of Bismarck's Native American graduation rate, inferred causes for cohort growth that the data do not identify, and inco...
31 North Dakota Districts Are at Their Lowest Graduation Rate on Record
Fargo. West Fargo. Minot. Dickinson. Bismarck. Williston Basin. Wahpeton. Seven large North Dakota districts posted the worst graduation rate they have recorded -- at the same time.
Low-Income Students' Graduation Rate Hits 12-Year Low
One in four students in North Dakota's 2024 graduation cohort came from a low-income household. Roughly one in three of those students did not finish high school on time.
Only One in Four Native American Students in Minot Graduates on Time
Correction (July 23, 2026): An earlier version said Minot's Native American graduating cohort grew from 22 to 58; the correct figure, stated correctly elsewhere in the article, is from 11 to 58.
How McKenzie County Absorbed the Oil Boom and Kept Graduation at 85.8%
McKenzie County (Watford City) grew 344.8% over the past two decades, from 533 students in 2008 to 2,371 in 2025-26, the steepest enrollment surge of any district in the Bakken oil patch. The boom tha...
At Its 2020 Graduation Rate, North Dakota's Growing Class of 2024 Would Have Earned 573 More Diplomas
In 2020, North Dakota graduated 89% of its seniors on time. If that rate had held, the class of 2024 would have produced 7,726 diploma-holders. Instead, with the rate at 82.4%, about 7,153 students fi...
Six Districts, Half the State
North Dakota has 165 school districts. Six of them, Bismarck, West Fargo, Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, and Mandan, now enroll 57,254 students, or 49.2% of the state's 116,365 total. The remaining 159 di...
Minot's Graduation Rate Crossed Below 70% in 2024, Down 19 Points Since 2013
In 2013, nearly nine out of ten Minot seniors graduated on time. In 2024, fewer than seven out of ten did.
The 24-Point Gap: Native American Students Graduate at 63% While White Peers Reach 88%
Between 2013 and 2018, something worked. The graduation rate for Native American students in North Dakota climbed from 64.3% to 72%, and the gap with white students narrowed from 26 percentage points ...
Fargo and West Fargo Both Hit All-Time Low Graduation Rates as the Metro Booms
Correction (July 26, 2026): An earlier version of this article said that neither Fargo nor West Fargo responded to a request for comment. We never sent either district a request for comment on this st...
North Dakota's 24-Point Native American Graduation Gap
In 2018, the graduation gap between Native American and white students in North Dakota had narrowed to 19.4 percentage points, the smallest in at least six years. Native American students were graduat...
6,336 Students Below the Trend Line
Between 2008 and 2019, North Dakota added an average of 1,526 students a year. The Bakken oil boom filled western classrooms. Fargo's suburbs pushed east. Enrollment climbed from 94,052 to 110,842, a ...
89% to 82%: North Dakota's Graduation Rate Collapse
North Dakota graduated 89.0% of its high school seniors in 2020. Four years later, that number is 82.4%. The state has not posted a single year of improvement since.
North Dakota's 16-Year Growth Era Ends
For 16 of the past 17 years, North Dakota added students. The Bakken oil boom pulled families into the western prairie. Fargo's suburbs sprawled east. The state's enrollment climbed from 93,406 in 200...