Iowa’s High School Graduation Rate Reaches New High of 91.3%

Iowa’s high school graduation rate has increased for the fifth year in a row while dropout rates edged up for the first time since the 2009-10 school year, according to figures released last week by the Iowa Department of Education.

State data show 91.3 percent of students in Iowa’s Class of 2016 graduated within four years, up from 90.8 percent for the Class of 2015. Iowa’s annual dropout rate was 2.8 percent in the 2015-16 school year, up from 2.5 percent in the 2014-15 school year. The state’s 2015-16 dropout rate represents 4,154 students in grades 9-12.

Graduation rates and dropout rates can increase simultaneously because they measure different groups of students. The four-year graduation rate follows one class of students over time – for example, students in the Class of 2016 starting with their enrollment as first-time freshmen during the 2012-13 school year – while annual dropout rates represent the number of students who dropped out of grades 9-12 during one school year.

“Graduation is a critical milestone in every student’s path to success,” Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise said. “While we’re proud that Iowa continues to lead nationally in high school graduation rates, we have work to do. We must ensure all Iowa high school students not only graduate, but do so with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in postsecondary education and training.”

Four-year graduation rate
Iowa’s four-year graduation rate climbed among African American students, Hispanic students and white students, but decreased among Asian students, Native American students, students in special education, students from low-income backgrounds, and students whose native language is not English.

Overall, Iowa’s four-year high school graduation rate has climbed 3 percentage points over a six-year period. Iowa also has seen a nearly 2 percentage-point increase in the graduation rate for students who took an extra year to finish high school.

The following graphic shows a comparison of Iowa’s four- and five-year graduation rates over time:

The following chart shows a comparison of the four- and five-year graduation rates of the districts in the Heartland AEA service area. One of our agency goals is to "increase annual graduation rates," so these data show a positive trend toward meeting that goal. Thanks for the work you do each day to improve student learning and well-being that influences to our students to stay in school and graduate! And thank you to Berrett Rice for his skills in quickly compiling this data.
- Paula

Visit the Iowa Department of Education’s website to read more.