Public schools in North Dakota participate in the North Dakota Student Engagement Survey (NDSES), developed by the State of North Dakota and administered by Pearson. The NDSES measures students’ behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and school belonging. The 2025-2026 NDSES administration window is February 1-28, 2026. North Dakota’s goal for each school is a 95% student participation rate on the NDSES survey to help ensure results accurately represent the school.
View more information on the NDSES below, including instructions for accessing, administering, and monitoring survey progress.
The survey begins with the following message:
You will be shown 33 statements. For each one, select which answer best describes you. There are no right or wrong answers.
Students are then shown 3-5 questions at a time. At the top of each page, students see this message:
Below are 3 [or 4 or 5] statements, select which answer best describes you.
At the bottom of the page under the questions, students see this message:
Once you move to the next question you will not be able to return. Check your answers before clicking "Next."
Students are offered four response options for each item:
almost never, sometimes, often, almost always
The survey begins with the following message:
You will be shown 43 statements. For each one, select which answer best describes you. There are no right or wrong answers.
Students are then shown 3–5 questions at a time. At the top of each page, students see this message:
Below are 3 [or 4 or 5] statements, select which answer best describes you.
At the bottom of the page under the questions, students see this message:
Once you move to the next question you will not be able to return. Check your answers before clicking "Next."
Students are offered five response options for each item:
never, rarely, sometimes, often, always
Past student engagement data at the state level can be found at Insights.ND, and school- and district-level results can be found by searching individual schools on Insights.
Please visit the NDDPI website dedicated to the NDSES to find further information, including an FAQ document and a list of words, phrases, and concepts that are included in survey items.