Tutoring in South Dakota
Kolu is software. Nobody from Kolu will drive to your house in South Dakota, and we have no office there. If you want a person, this page says how we would look for one. If the question is which skill is missing, we can help with that part.
South Dakota's own tests stop after eighth grade. Students in grades 3 through 8 take SD ELA and SD Math each spring, and fifth and eighth graders also take SD Science. The 2026-27 window for all three runs March 29 to May 7, and the tests are untimed. In high school the state test is the ACT with writing, given to juniors at school under the name SD-ACT. It is offered in three windows between March 9 and April 16, 2027, and it covers English, reading, math, science and writing. It is the only general state test a student takes in grades 9 through 12.
What South Dakota tests, and when
| Grade | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and writing | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | Not tested | Not tested | SD-ACT | Not tested |
| Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | SD ELA and SD Math | Not tested | Not tested | SD-ACT | Not tested |
| Science | Not tested | Not tested | SD Science | Not tested | Not tested | SD Science | Not tested | Not tested | SD-ACT | Not tested |
- SD ELA and SD Math: reading and writing, math, grades 3 through 8
- SD Science: science, grades 5 and 8
- SD-ACT (the ACT with writing, given as the South Dakota grade 11 assessment): reading and writing, math, science, grade 11
- Main testing window
- late March to early May
- Standards
- South Dakota Content Standards
- Paid for by the state
- ACT, grade 11, on a school day
The South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship asks for an ACT composite or superscore of 24 together with required courses and a 3.0 GPA, or a 28 without the course and GPA conditions. For most juniors the first attempt at that score is the SD-ACT at school in March or April.
Is there a graduation test in South Dakota?
No, South Dakota does not require a passing score on a state test for a diploma.
Kolu finds the missing skill and goes back to it
It starts with a skill check, a short test that gets harder or easier depending on the last answer. The result is a map of the subject broken into skills with their prerequisites drawn in, each one marked as solid, still being learned, or a gap.
After that, each session is a handful of activities picked for that student, usually something due for review, a gap to repair and one new skill. When an answer is wrong, Kolu looks at which earlier skill the mistake points to and goes back to it. Here is what that looks like for a sixth grader who can't divide fractions.
The problem on the page
3/4 ÷ 2/5
Dividing fractions
Grade 6
Multiplying fractions
Grade 5 · rests on the one below
Equivalent fractions
Grade 4 · usually where it started
Multiplication facts
Grade 3
Kolu does not call a skill mastered after one right answer. That takes correct work on different kinds of problems on different days, and a skill that fades gets brought back.
Kolu is not test prep for SD ELA and SD Math. It has no bank of released questions. It teaches the skills the test draws on, and it will not do tonight's homework.
When to hire a person instead
Some students need a person, and software is the wrong purchase for them. That includes a child who shuts down when the work gets hard, a student with a learning disability who needs someone trained in it, and anyone with an exam in ten days.
Ask the school first. Teachers know who tutors, and a counselor can tell you what the district already offers at no cost. A nearby college is the next place to look, since students there took these courses recently and usually charge less than an agency.
Whoever you hire, ask one question before the first session: how will you find out what my child doesn't know? If the answer is that they will go over the homework, keep looking.
Free for one subject, $15 a month for 5
Kolu is free for one subject at a time, with one full skill check every 30 days and up to 4 sessions a day. Plus is $15 a month, or $120 for a year, and covers 5 subjects at once with unlimited skill checks. A learner under 13 needs a parent or guardian to set up the account.