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 is organized into several sections:

• Identification Processes provides more detail about how schools and districts are identified.
• Accountability Indicators includes specific information about each indicator in the North Star system.
• Training: Accountability offers a series of short video modules explaining each part of the system.
• Recognition describes how schools have been recognized and what has been learned from them.
• Resources for Identified Schools contains tools for needs assessment, improvement planning, and other activities.

To see results for the North Star system, use the Minnesota Report Card or download the North Star file.