Comprehensive Needs Assessment
Throughout the 2020-2021 school year, Nebraska educators came together to revise the Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA), originally created by the NDE, in partnership with REL Central, Marzano Research, and Magnolia Consulting. The CNA is based on quality, evidence-based education practices for student success. The tool is aligned to AQuESTT and articulates the expected education practices under each of the domains, their tenets and the areas of focus supporting each tenet. When implemented fully, these education practices are intended to help your school achieve positive long-term outcomes.
The purpose of this tool is to help your school assess current practices, determine areas of strength, and identify priority areas for improvement. Your school team can use the needs assessment results to:
- Examine root causes of areas in need of improvement,
- Identify strategies and interventions to address root causes,
- Determine action steps for implementing strategies and interventions,
- Identify areas for professional learning, technical assistance, and resources to support implementation of strategies and interventions,
- Set goals for continuous improvement and progress monitoring toward goals.
This tool can be used in three ways:
- Full CNA: complete the comprehensive needs assessment which covers the six tenets and three domains of AQuESTT
- Screener: complete the screener to identify which tenets to focus on
- Individual tenet: Independently select the tenet you’d like to focus on
The Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) application has officially moved from Hourglass to the new NDE Portal and is open for completion as of Monday, August 18, 2025.
- Superintendents and other Portal District Administrators will automatically have access to the application on the New Portal home page starting Monday, August 18th.
- Principals (Principal role) and NDE users will need to request access once logged in to the New Portal. New Portal FAQ: How to Request Access
See the drop-down section below for additional information and navigation support.
Need Help?
- CNA Content or Process Questions: Contact Shirley Vargas (shirley.vargas@nebraska.gov)or Amanda Morris (amanda.morris@nebraska.gov)
- Technical Questions or Portal Support: Contact the NDE Service Desk (NDE.ServiceDesk@Nebraska.gov)
The Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) application has officially moved from Hourglass to the new NDE Portal and is open for completion as of Monday, August 18, 2025.
Once you are logged in to the new NDE portal and have the access to the CNA app, there are three ways to engage with the comprehensive needs assessment, complete the entire assessment, complete a screener, or manually select tenets.
Want a downloadable file?
Access a full-text, readable version of the CNA v. 2.0 here. This link will create a copy and save it directly to your Google Drive.
- Please note: this version will not generate dynamic results. It is designed to provide you with a complete copy of the CNA that you can read and engage with as needed.
<Coming Soon> CNA Versions 1.0 & 2.0: An Overview and Development Story
Linked below are User Guides with step-by-step instructions for navigating the CNA in the new NDE Portal.
<Coming Soon> Videos to help you orient to the platform and complete the needs assessment are linked below.