How North Dakota Is
Personalizing Learning
In 2016, North Dakota leaders recognized a paradox: while most students were graduating, too many were entering college needing remediation, and employers noted gaps in critical skills like problem-solving and collaboration. Determined to move from good to great, North Dakota began its journey toward personalized, competency-based learning.
2016: KnowledgeWorks conducts statewide policy audit
2017: Senate Bill 2186 passes with bipartisan support, securing policy flexibility that allows districts to implement personalized, competency-based learning
2018: The Choice Ready Framework translates policy into action, establishing indicators that measure whether graduates are prepared for college, career or military service
2018: NDDPI and KnowledgeWorks partnered to support the implementation of the North Dakota Personalized, Competency-Based Learning Cohort
2019: North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (NDDPI) partners with KnowledgeWorks to host statewide convenings and bring together design teams for professional learning
2020: Portrait of a Graduate establishes a shared vision of the competencies and durable skills students should have before they graduate
2021: SB 2196 establishes the North Dakota Mastery Framework, providing a shared set of competencies and progressions to guide personalized, competency-based learning
2021: KnowledgeWorks, NDDPI and Northeast Education Services Cooperative co-create the North Dakota Learning Continuum
2022: ND PCBL Steering Committee is formed, establishing the organizational structure for providing support and decision-making
2023: North Dakota Network for Personalized Learning launches to provide ongoing professional learning, resources and a community of practice to sustain improvement
2025: The state commits $1 million in direct funding to support the Intermediary for Innovative Education at Valley City State University to coordinate expansion and sustainability of the North Dakota Network for Personalized Learning
North Dakota’s personalized, competency-based learning is showing measurable impact for students, teachers and schools. Statewide data indicate gains in readiness and enrollment, while students and teachers share how the approach is reshaping classrooms for the better.
+14 percentage points in workforce readiness among district seniors year-over-year
61% of educators say that working toward personalized learning has improved their district’s culture
Personalized, competency-based learning relies on four essential things:
The next chapter will focus on further aligning policy and practice, including scaling teacher leadership, building new funding pathways to sustain innovation and strengthening a culture of continuous improvement.
Building on the three policy areas outlined in its recently released Innovation Guide, North Dakota is highlighting examples of how schools and districts are beginning to use existing policy flexibilities to remove barriers, empower educators and transform learning for students, and how others might build on these examples in their own contexts.
