South Dakota

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in South Dakota
Social Studies Video Updating Social Studies Expectations in the ‘Critical Race Theory’ Era
Always a focal point for controversy, updating what students should know in history class became especially charged in late 2021 and 2022.
Lauren Santucci & Stephen Sawchuk, January 3, 2023
5:23
Image of students in line for a school meal.
Lisa Rathke/AP
Student Well-Being Student School Meal Debt Is Ballooning in Many Districts. Here's Why
Families are either struggling to pay for school meals or aren’t aware that federal funding for universal school meals has ended.
Arianna Prothero, October 31, 2022
3 min read
Image of a social study book coming to visual life with edits to the content.
Illustration by Laura Baker/Education Week (Source imagery: Orensila and iStock/Getty)
Social Studies Revising America's Racist Past
How the 'critical race theory' debate is crashing headlong into efforts to update social studies standards.
Stephen Sawchuk, January 18, 2022
27 min read
Collage of figures and money texture.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Education Funding State K-12 Spending Is Inequitable and Inadequate. See Where Yours Ranks
There's a $17,000 per student difference between the highest- and lowest-spending states. High-poverty schools suffer especially.
Mark Lieberman, October 28, 2021
4 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center Map: A-F Grades, Rankings for States on School Quality
Here’s a map showing grades for all the states on this year’s Quality Counts summative report card, on which the nation gets a C overall.
EdWeek Research Center, September 1, 2021
1 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center Nation Gets a 'C' on Latest School Quality Report Card, While N.J. Again Boasts Top Grade
A slight increase in this year's Quality Counts score isn't enough to boost the nation's school system above last year's middling grade.
Sterling C. Lloyd & Alex Harwin, September 1, 2021
8 min read
Illustration of students reading with pie chart.
iStock/Getty Images Plus
States From Our Research Center State Grades on K-12 Achievement: 2021 Map and Rankings
Examine the grades and scores that states and the nation earned on K-12 achievement, along with how they scored on a host of indicators.
EdWeek Research Center, September 1, 2021
1 min read
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, center, enters teacher Meghan Horleman's, right, classroom during a visit to the Olney Elementary School Annex in Philadelphia on April 6, 2021.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona enters the classroom of teacher Meghan Horleman during a visit to the Olney Elementary School Annex in Philadelphia on April 6.
Tim Tai/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP
Education Funding Feds OK First State Plans for Remaining Share of $122 Billion in K-12 Virus Aid
As it approved states' relief plans, the Education Department separately opened applications for $600 million in homeless-student aid.
Evie Blad, July 7, 2021
5 min read
Conceptual image of a school door with projected shadows of students.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty)
School & District Management Interactive Enrollment Data: How Many Students Went Missing in Your State?
America's public school system lost more than 1.3 million students during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Education Week analysis.
1 min read
Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Students participate in class outside at the Woodland Pond School, a private school located near Bangor, Maine. Maine experienced one of the nation's largest drops in student enrollment in the 2020-21 school year, according to an EdWeek analysis.
Photo courtesy of Woodland Pond School
School & District Management More Than 1 Million Students Didn't Enroll During the Pandemic. Will They Come Back?
Education Week analyzed state data to gather a more comprehensive understanding of the 2020-21 school year's enrollment loss.
Eesha Pendharkar, June 17, 2021
6 min read
States Tracker Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack
Education Week summarizes where state policymakers are attempting to censor the way teachers talk about racism and gender.
Sarah Schwartz, June 11, 2021
4 min read
Illustration of C letter grade
Getty
States From Our Research Center State Grades on School Finance: 2021 Map and Rankings
Examine the grades and scores that states and the nation earned on school finance, along with how they scored on a host of indicators.
EdWeek Research Center, June 1, 2021
1 min read
Illustration of C letter grade
Getty
Education Funding From Our Research Center Nation Earns a 'C' on School Finance, Reflecting Inconsistency in K-12 Funding and Equity
The Edweek Research Center's latest analysis finds a gulf in many states between per-pupil spending and how that K-12 money goes out.
6 min read
Teacher Salary Rankings 04262021 943331302
iStock/Getty Images Plus
Teaching Profession Teacher Salaries Are Increasing. See How Your State Compares
The National Education Association warns that some of the progress in teacher pay could be jeopardized by the pandemic.
Madeline Will, April 26, 2021
2 min read