North Dakota school board elections, 2016
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Elections
General elections for North Dakota school boards were held on June 14, 2016. The two North Dakota school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held school board elections for six seats in 2016.
Here are several quick facts about North Dakota's school board elections in 2016:
- The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2016 was the Bismarck Public Schools with 12,012 K-12 students.
- The smallest North Dakota school district among the nation's largest with an election in 2016 was the Fargo Public Schools with 11,101 K-12 students.
- Fargo had the most seats on the 2016 ballot with four seats up for election.
- Bismark had the fewest seats on the 2016 ballot with two seats up for election.
The district listed below served 23,113 K-12 students during the 2013-2014 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Click on the district names for more information on each one and its school board elections.
| 2016 North Dakota School Board Elections | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | General date | Regular term (years) | Seats up for election | Total board seats | Student enrollment | ||
| Bismarck Public Schools | 6/14/2016 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 12,012 | ||
| Fargo Public Schools | 6/14/2016 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 11,101 | ||
June 14 election results
North Dakota's two largest school districts held school board elections on June 14, 2016. Bismarck Public Schools had two seats on the ballots, and Fargo Public Schools had four seats on the ballot. Newcomers fared well in the elections, taking two-thirds of the seats. Two of the three incumbents who ran to retain their seats won re-election for a 66.67 percent success rate.
Election results
Note: An (i) next to a candidate's name indicates incumbent status.
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Bismarck Public Schools |
Fargo Public Schools |
Issues
State to write new standards, move away from Common Core
On May 3, 2016, North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler announced the state would be writing its own standards in order to replace Common Core standards, which the state implemented in 2010. The new standards were written over the 2016-2017 school year in order to implement them for the 2017-2018 school year.
“We will create a set of standards by North Dakotans for North Dakotans,” Baesler said a press conference. “These standards will set clear and high expectations for all students.”
The Common Core standards were used through the 2016-2017 school year, and the Smarter Balanced standardized tests were used to assess students in the spring of 2017. After that, the state switched to a test more in line with the new standards.
In 2015, the North Dakota State Legislature unsuccessfully tried to break ties with the Smarter Balanced Testing Consortium, and the state's use of Common Core standards received backlash from lawmakers and parents. With a number of state officials up for election in 2016, the backlash from Common Core fired up again. Baesler said it had become apparent that it was time to start writing new standards. She also said that the introduction of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act in December 2015, made it an opportune time to write new standards.[1]
Election trends
Trends in North Dakota school board elections
The following sections analyze competitiveness and incumbency advantage in school board elections held in North Dakota's largest school districts by student enrollment. These districts did not utilize primary or runoff elections. Winners only had to receive a plurality, or relative majority, of votes to secure a seat. All of the school board elections held in the state in 2014 and 2016 were nonpartisan.
Details of the data discussed here can be found in the table below.
Competitiveness
Six school board seats in North Dakota's largest school districts by enrollment were up for election in 2016. In 2014, eight seats were on the ballot, and 17 candidates ran in the elections. That created an average of 2.13 candidates per seat, which was higher than the 2014 national average of 1.89 candidates per seat. No school board seats up for election in North Dakota were unopposed in 2014. Nationwide that year, 32.57 percent of school board seats were unopposed.
Incumbency advantage
Fifty percent of the school board incumbents whose terms were on the ballot in North Dakota in 2014 ran to retain their seats, and 100 percent of them won. Nationally, 81.37 percent of incumbents won re-election in 2014.
Four newcomers were elected to school boards in the state in 2014. They took half of the seats on the ballot, which was higher than the 38.19 percent of school board seats that went to newcomers nationally in 2014.
The map below details the success rates for incumbents who ran in the 2014 school board elections that were held in the largest school districts by enrollment in the U.S.
Data table
| North Dakota school board elections, 2014 - 2016 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2016 | |||||||||
| All candidates | ||||||||||
| Seats up | 8 | 6 | ||||||||
| Candidates | 17 | TBD | ||||||||
| Candidates/seat | 2.13 | TBD | ||||||||
| Unopposed seats | 0 | TBD | ||||||||
| % unopposed | 0.00% | TBD | ||||||||
| % seats won by newcomers | 50.00% | TBD | ||||||||
| Incumbents | ||||||||||
| Sought re-election | 4 | TBD | ||||||||
| Unopposed | 0 | TBD | ||||||||
| Retained | 4 | TBD | ||||||||
| % retained | 100.00% | TBD | ||||||||
Academic performance
- See also: Public education in North Dakota
The sections below do not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
| Education terms |
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| For more information on education policy terms, see this article. |
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NAEP scores
- See also: NAEP scores by state
The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth-grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming), North Dakota had the highest share of eighth-grade students who scored at or above proficient in math.[2]
| Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math - Grade 4 | Math - Grade 8 | Reading - Grade 4 | Reading - Grade 8 | |
| North Dakota | 48% | 41% | 34% | 34% |
| Montana | 45% | 40% | 35% | 40% |
| South Dakota | 40% | 38% | 32% | 36% |
| Wyoming | 48% | 38% | 37% | 38% |
| U.S. averages | 41% | 34% | 34% | 34% |
| Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables" | ||||
Graduation, ACT and SAT scores
The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for North Dakota and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[2][3][4]
In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.[5]
North Dakota schools reported a graduation rate of 87.5 percent, highest among its neighboring states.
In North Dakota, more students took the ACT than the SAT, earning an average ACT score of 20.5.
| Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Graduation rate, 2013 | Average ACT composite, 2013 | Average SAT composite, 2013 | ||||
| Percent | Quintile ranking** | Score | Participation rate | Score | Participation rate | ||
| North Dakota | 87.5% | First | 20.5 | 98% | 1799 | 2% | |
| Montana | 84.4% | Third | 21.3 | 72% | 1595 | 25% | |
| South Dakota | 82.7% | Third | 21.9 | 78% | 1760 | 3% | |
| Wyoming | 77% | Fourth | 19.8 | 100% | 1757 | 4% | |
| United States | 81.4% | 20.9 | 54% | 1498 | 50% | ||
| **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013" | |||||||
Dropout rate
- See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states
The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for North Dakota was on par with the national average at 3.3 percent in the 2010-2011 school year. The dropout rate was lower than the national average at 3 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[6]
State profile
State profile
| Demographic data for North Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 756,835 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 69,001 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 88.7% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 5.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 2.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91.7% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.7% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $57,181 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 12.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in North Dakota. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
North Dakota voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in North Dakota, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[7]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. North Dakota had three Retained Pivot Counties, 1.66 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More North Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in North Dakota
- United States congressional delegations from North Dakota
- Public policy in North Dakota
- Endorsers in North Dakota
- North Dakota fact checks
- More...
See also
| North Dakota | School Boards | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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Footnotes
- ↑ Bismarck Tribune, "North Dakota to write standards replacing Common Core," May 3, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
- ↑ StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
- ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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