Minnesota uses the North Star system to identify schools and districts for support. The North Star system was designed using extensive feedback from diverse stakeholders across Minnesota to satisfy the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the state’s World’s Best Workforce law (WBWF).

The broad idea of accountability includes three main areas: identifying schools for support, publicly reporting data, and recognizing schools for success. Each of these areas provides valuable information to families, communities, and educators. The information on this page focuses on identifying schools for support.

Identifying schools and districts for support helps Minnesota prioritize its resources and deliver the most extensive support to the schools and districts where student outcomes across multiple indicators suggest those resources can do the most good. Both overall performance and the performance of specific student groups (major racial and ethnic groups, English learners, students in special education, and students eligible for free or reduced price lunch) are considered when making identifications. Support can come from the Regional Centers of Excellence (RCEs), a local school district, the Minnesota Department of Education, or some combination of all three depending on context and needs.

This page provides information about the processes used to identify schools and districts for support and the indicators used by those processes. It also provides several training modules that explain each element of the North Star system.