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.
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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.
Katharine Stevens, a researcher with the American Enterprise Institute, called the pandemic âa catastrophe on top of a catastropheâ because learning losses, technology barriers and reduced access to education have been far greater among low-income and minority students at all age levels in America in 2020.