Editorâs note: This is Part 2 of a three-part series.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further lowered the ability of low-income and minority students in South Dakota, including Native Americans, to enroll in college, obtain a degree and gain the lifelong financial and upward mobility benefits that come with higher education.
Education experts in South Dakota and around the country are increasingly worried that the COVID-19 pandemic has further expanded the long-standing educational achievement gap in which higher-income and white students do significantly better on standardized tests and in gaining access to higher education than students from lower-income and minority families.