Student Engagement

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 following are words, phrases, and concepts that are included in survey items:

• a fun place
• acting, pretending
• activities
• asking questions
• being at home
• being at school
• being ignored
• being in class
• being interested
• being involved
• being part of school
• being yourself
• books
• caring about others, others caring about you
• checking your work
• classroom
• close connections and relationships
• completing your work
• disliking something
• doing something again
• doing well in school
• extra
• feeling accepted
• feeling bored
• feeling excited
• feeling excluded
• feeling happy
• feeling like you belong
• feeling like you don't belong
• following rules
• friends
• getting in trouble
• how you see yourself
• ignoring someone
• knowing
• learning
• liking something
• making sure
• meaning of a word
• mind wandering
• mistake(s)
• on time
• other people
• outside of school
• participating
• paying attention
• people caring about you
• reading
• school work
• studying
• talking
• teachers
• tests
• trying hard
• understanding
• watching shows or videos
• words
• working hard

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

Following are words, phrases, and concepts that are included in survey items:

• acting, pretending
• associating ideas and information
• being an active participant
• being happy
• being ignored
• being interested
• being involved
• being part of your school
• being proud
• being yourself
• caring about others, others caring about you
• close and sincere relationships
• combining and connecting information
• comparing ideas
• concepts
• course material
• deciding something
• differences
• difficulty
• doing just enough
• doing something often
• doing well
• enjoying learning
• examples
• experiences
• extra-curricular activities
• feeling accepted
• feeling excluded
• feeling like you belong
• feeling like you don't belong
• figuring out something
• finding something boring
• finding something interesting
• getting by
• going over information again
• having trouble
• how you see yourself
• ideas fitting together
• important ideas
• knowledge
• learning
• liking learning
• looking forward to something
• matching information
• mind wandering
• mornings
• participating
• paying attention
• problem
• putting something into your own words
• relating information
• running into a problem
• school activities
• similarities
• solving something
• studying
• taking an active role
• the real world
• thinking through ideas
• to keep working
• topics
• trying hard
• understanding
• useful
• volunteering
• what you already know
• working hard

Survey Administration

• Q: When will the survey be given to students?
  A: The survey administration window will be open February 1-28, 2026. Each district will determine the best time to administer the survey to their students during this window.
• Q: Which students are included in the survey administration?
  A: All students in grades 3-12 who are actively enrolled in a public North Dakota school during the survey window should participate in the survey administration.
• Q: Will a transfer or new student have to take the survey?
  A: Each student will only take the NDSES once. Because this is a statewide survey, if a student transfers from another North Dakota school where he or she already has taken the survey during the current administration window, they will not take the survey again. If during the survey administration window, a student transfers from a school outside of the state, or he/she did not previously take this year’s survey while at another school/district within the state, the student should take the survey.
• Q: How are points awarded for the SES in ND Accountability?
  A: The ND Calculation Guide provides details on accountability calculations. Student engagement information is located on pages 8–10.
• Q: Can parents opt out of the survey?
  A: Parents may opt out according to local district processes and practices.

Survey Content & Timing

• Q: What is the purpose of the NDSES?
  A: The purpose of the NDSES is twofold. First, results are used to calculate the School Quality Indicator for accountability purposes. Second, the student-level results will be shared with schools in support of continuous improvement efforts.
• Q: How long is the survey and will students be asked demographic questions?
  A: There are 33 questions on the survey for Grades 3-6 and 43 questions for the survey for Grades 7-12.
• Q: How long will the survey take to complete?
  A: Most students complete the survey in about 15–20 minutes.
• Q: Can students pause in the middle of the survey?
  A: Yes.
• Q: Can a student retake the survey once they’ve submitted?
  A: No.
• Q: Can educators have access to the survey questions?
  A: Copies of the survey questions are not provided. However, educators may review supporting resources on the website, including information on survey domains, vocabulary, and other materials that explain the intent and structure of the survey.

Survey Access & Technology

• Q: How will students access the survey?
  A: The survey is administered online to students statewide via a platform designed and administered by Pearson.
• Q: How are student rosters determined for the survey?
  A: School will work with Pearson for keeping student rosters up-to-date for both assessments and the NDSES.
• Q: Can a school or district remove students from the roster?
  A: Students cannot be removed from the NDSES roster in Launchpad. Districts should maintain local documentation for students who are unable to participate or are exempt. This documentation is important, especially if a school does not meet the 95% participation goal.
• Q: Where can I find a student’s SSID?
  A: SSIDs can be found in LaunchPad, PowerSchool, or STARS.
• Q: How do I get site or district administrative access to the LaunchPad site?
  A: A current district administrator must grant permission for the individual through an email to dpiassess@nd.gov requesting access.
• Q: Can we bypass the test code entry screen and push out direct links to the survey to student devices?
  A: Yes. The test code screen can be bypassed if using the links below.
  Grades 3-6: ADAM | Test Delivery
  Grades 7-12: ADAM | Test Delivery
  Be sure to use the correct link that coordinates to the appropriate grade ranges for the NDSES. This will bypass the test code entry page and go directly to the student login page in which the Last Name and SSID will need to be entered. In the event the wrong link (wrong test code) is sent to a student that is not in that grade level, the login page will trigger an error.

Accessibility & Accommodations

• Q: What accessibility tools and resources are available?
  A: The survey platform includes tools such as color contrast, dictionary, font size adjustment, highlighter, line reader, magnifier, and text-to-speech (TTS). Educators must provide accommodations identified in 504s, ILPs, and IEPs. Refer to the Accessibility Resources on the ND A+ Portal for details. If a student’s plan requires additional accommodations, apply them as stated. Teachers or survey administrators may paraphrase instructions, questions, or response options only for students with approved accommodations, ensuring the meaning remains unchanged.
• Q: Can a school offer a translation of the NDSES in a student’s native language?
  A: Yes. Students who require translation services, as outlined in their Individual Language Plan (ILP), have two options:

1. A translator may read the survey aloud to an individual student in a separate setting, and the responses can be entered into the survey platform. No further action is required.
2. A copy of the survey may be requested by emailing lisaajohnson@nd.gov for use by the district to provide a written translation in the student’s native language. Additional documentation will be required.

The following four academic publications describe the scales used in the NDSES:

Arslan, G., & Duru, E. (2017). Initial development and validation of the School
Belongingness Scale. Child Indicators Research, 10(4), 1043-1058. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-016-9414-y

Fredricks, J. A., Blumenfeld, P., Friedel, J., & Paris, A. (2005). School engagement. In K. A. 
Moore & L. H. Lippman (Eds.), What do children need to flourish: Conceptualizing and measuring indicators of positive development (pp. 305–321). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-23823-9_19

Hart, S. R., Stewart, K., & Jimerson, S. R. (2011). The Student Engagement in Schools 
Questionnaire (SESQ) and the Teacher Engagement Form-New (TERF-N): Examining the preliminary evidence. Contemporary School Psychology, 15(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf03340964

Lam, S.-f., Jimerson, S., Wong, B. P. H., Kikas, E., Shin, H., Veiga, F. H., Hatzichristou, C., 
Polychroni, F., Cefai, C., Negovan, V., Stanculescu, E., Yang, H., Liu, Y., Basnett, J., Duck, R., Farrell, P., Nelson, B., & Zollneritsch, J. (2014). Understanding and measuring student engagement in school: The results of an international study from 12 countries. School Psychology Quarterly, 29(2), 213-232. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000057

The following academic publication describes the framework for identifying students as committed, compliant, or disengaged at school:

Schlechty, P. C. (2002). Working on the work: An action plan for teachers, principals and 
superintendents (1st ed.). Jossey Bass. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED465719