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State education leaders describe ‘Choice Ready’ gains and outline budget, goals
Summary
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction officials told the joint House and Senate education committees that graduation and 'choice ready' rates have risen in recent years, and reviewed the agency’s $2.9 billion K–12 budget, strategic goals and data priorities.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Basler told a joint House–Senate education committee on the opening day of the 69th session that the department’s goal is to prepare students “to graduate choice ready.” She emphasized the department’s role supporting roughly 130,000–135,000 K–12 students and managing state and federal dollars for schools.
Basler said the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) administers a $2.9 billion K–12 budget, and that roughly $2.8 billion of that total is distributed directly to local school districts. “Our job is to make sure that our our students, a 130,000 of them now that are kindergarten through 12th grade age ... have what they need so they can graduate choice ready and be successful,” Basler said.
The department described “Choice Ready,” North Dakota’s high‑school growth metric, as part of the state’s accountability framework. Assistant State Superintendent Lori Matzke said Choice Ready was created after the Every Student Succeeds Act required states to adopt accountability systems, and that it uses a combination of “essential skills” and three pathways—postsecondary, workforce and military readiness—to judge whether a graduate is prepared for life after high school.
Matzke told the committee the department’s baseline analysis found about 21% of graduates were “choice ready” in 2015. She said that, by the most recent reporting year, that share had risen to roughly 70–72 percent, a gain she described to the committee as “huge.” The department said the metric is used as a school‑level growth measure rather than an individual test score.
Basler and Matzke reviewed the department’s strategic vision, which lists six long‑term outcome goals (kindergarten readiness, third‑grade reading proficiency, annual learning gains, student engagement, choice‑ready graduation and reduced achievement disparities). They said the department will continue to measure both aggregate outcomes and subgroup gaps, citing Native American students and students with disabilities as priority subgroups for closing disparities.
DPI also described a recent rebranding of the student information and assessment systems. Basler said the state is moving to a new statewide assessment suite called NDA+ (the NDA+ summative and interim suite) and planning a student information system migration the summer of 2026 to Infinite Campus so districts will have a single platform for grades, attendance and parent notifications.
Why it matters: DPI’s budget and performance measures determine how state dollars are delivered and how local school boards and districts are held accountable. The department framed the Choice Ready gains as evidence of progress while highlighting persistent gaps for some student groups.
The department closed by noting ongoing briefings and an afternoon session on career and technical education. Matzke and other DPI staff told the committee they will continue to provide data, technical assistance and contacts for legislators who need follow‑up information.
