For discussion
March 2015
Compass Points – 2015! A New Feature on North Dakota Compass
North Dakota Compass is proud to introduce a new feature to the project—North Dakota Compass Points! The newly released 2015 Compass Points includes notable trends, key demographics, and a dashboard look at measures of progress for 10 topic areas represented on the website and gives a snapshot of the quality of life statewide. The North Dakota Compass team looks forward to sharing the Compass Points with communities, organizations, and agencies throughout the state.
The North Dakota Compass team introduces all-new North Dakota Compass Points 2015.
Q: What is Compass Points?
Compass Points is a visual snapshot of the quality of life in North Dakota as informed by data existent on the North Dakota Compass website. The Compass Points includes notable trends, key demographics, and a dashboard look at measures of progress for 10 topic areas represented on our website. The notable trends give individuals an idea of what has been happening in the area of demographics, economy, health, and education at the state level and help them make decisions to improve the quality of life in their communities. The dashboard organizes and presents the most recent data in 10 topic areas and main key measures for a quick view, comparison with the previous data point, and national rank. In addition, the Compass Points offers a look into some critical racial gaps throughout the state. Last, the publication looks into changes in the population landscape of the state by featuring selected demographic characteristics.
Q: Why create Compass Points?
The purpose of the Compass Points document is to inform, educate, create awareness, and generate discussion around the main quality of life indicators in North Dakota and help users make the most informed decisions possible for their communities. Some may see the Compass Points as a state of the state if you will. Our goal is to provide a statewide snapshot of information and invite the users to visit the North Dakota Compass website for more detailed information and data (e.g., breakdowns by geography, race, income, etc.) about a topic provided on this document. For instance, those who want to see more detailed information about education achievement scores, can go to the topic header (i.e., "Education") and explore the key measures (e.g., 3rd grade reading scores), breakdowns (e.g., 3rd grade students achieving reading standards by income), and the associated data, notes, and sources.
Q: Where can I find the Compass Points on the website?
You can get to Compass Points from any page on the North Dakota Compass website (ndcompass.org). Scroll-over “Trends” in the upper right-hand corner of the webpage and click on “Major Trends.” Here you will find a detailed description of the major trends for North Dakota and the most current Compass Points document. Click on the image of the Compass Points and the PDF will appear for viewing, download, and printing.
Q: How often will this document be updated?
The Compass Points document will be updated on an annual basis. Why only once a year, you may ask? The Compass Points is a static, printed publication to be shared around the state, unlike the live North Dakota Compass website where data is consistently being updated. We would like to make sure that when people look at the 2015 Compass Points for example, they all have the same information in their hands so we can correctly inform and educate.
As this is a new publication, the North Dakota Compass team wanted to share it as soon as possible; however, in the upcoming years we would like to reach out the communities, organizations, and agencies to help support this information sharing publication prior to its release. North Dakota Compass is in the beginning process to open up membership and sponsorship opportunities. And sponsoring the North Dakota Compass Points is one way that people can show support and make sure that this wonderful resource stays available.
Please contact the North Dakota Compass team if you are interested in sponsoring next year’s Compass Points!
Center for Social Research
North Dakota State University
Compass created by:
Wilder Research
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