district-spotlight
Bismarck-Mandan's 18-Year Growth Engine Stalls
Bismarck-Mandan added 4,328 students since 2008, but K enrollment has fallen 19% in four years and Bismarck just posted its first non-COVID decline.
North Dakota Education News & Data
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equity
The 24-Point Gap: Native American Students Graduate at 63% While White Peers Reach 88%
The white-Native American graduation gap widened back to 24 points, erasing all gains made between 2013 and 2018.
equity
Native American Students in North Dakota Cut 5 Points From Their COVID Attendance Peak, More Than Any Other Group. The Gap Widened Anyway.
Four of five racial gaps in North Dakota chronic absenteeism are wider than 2019. But the recovery has been uneven across groups: Native American students recovered most from their pandemic peak, Pacific Islander students recovered not at all, and the Asian-white gap inverted.
equity
A Majority of Students Who Are Currently Homeless in North Dakota Are Chronically Absent
Fifty-three percent of students who are currently homeless in North Dakota miss more than 10% of school days, up from 39% before the pandemic, with virtually no recovery from the COVID peak.
graduation-rate
Three in Four North Dakota Ninth Graders Now Earn a Diploma on Time, Down from Nearly Nine in Ten
North Dakota's effective high school completion rate has fallen to 75%, down from 86% a decade ago. Mandan is the only large district to improve.
district-spotlight
Fargo and West Fargo Both Hit All-Time Low Graduation Rates as the Metro Booms
Fargo dropped to 80% and West Fargo to 79.9% in 2024, both all-time lows, despite being the state's fastest-growing metro area.
district-spotlight
West Fargo Has Grown Every Year for 18 Years
West Fargo's enrollment rose 113.8% since 2008, making it North Dakota's second-largest school district.
district-spotlight
Dickinson's Chronic Absenteeism Surged From 10% to 26% as Oil Country Attendance Collapses
Bakken oil region districts saw chronic absence rates double or triple since 2018, far outpacing the state's 8-point increase, as boom-bust volatility destabilizes school attendance.
graduation-rate
North Dakota's Graduation Rate Has Fallen for Four Straight Years to Its Lowest Point in Over a Decade
North Dakota's 4-year graduation rate dropped to 82.4% in 2024, its lowest in 12 years, even as cohort sizes grew 15%.
equity
North Dakota's 24-Point Native American Graduation Gap
Native American grad rates fell to 63.4% in 2024, erasing six years of gains. The gap with white students widened to 24.1 points.
district-spotlight
Fargo's Chronic Absenteeism Doubled. And the Problem Is Concentrated in Its Poorest Schools
North Dakota's largest district went from 13% to 26% chronic absence, with school-level rates ranging from 5% to 37% and Native American students at 53%.
enrollment
6,336 Students Below the Trend Line
North Dakota's enrollment sits 6,336 students below its pre-COVID trajectory, a gap worth $71.9 million in per-pupil funding that widens each year.
equity
Nearly Two in Five Native American Students in North Dakota Are Chronically Absent
Native American students face a 39% chronic absence rate, 24 points above white peers, with reservation districts like Belcourt and Fargo reporting rates above 50%.
district-spotlight
Oil Country Quadrupled Its Schools
McKenzie County grew 345% since 2008 as the Bakken boom reshaped western ND. Rapid growth brought teacher shortages and a graduation gap.
chronic-absenteeism
North Dakota's Chronic Absence Recovery Has Stalled. One in Five Students Still Missing Too Much School
Despite reopening schools faster than almost any state, North Dakota's chronic absenteeism rate has flatlined at 20% for two consecutive years, recovering just 20% of the way back to pre-pandemic levels.
