Iowa First in the Nation in Graduation Rates

A federal report shines a spotlight on one of the country's less noticed states

Iowa is number one in the nation when it comes to high school graduation rates, reports the state's own Des Moines Register, which is surely giddy over the news.

According to the US Department of Education, the Hawkeye State graduated 88% of its students in the 2010-2011 school year, trumping Wisconsin's 87% by a nose (or rather "knows"). The worst performing states on this front are to be found out west. New Mexico promoted only 63% of its students into the post-K-12 world, while Nevada did even worse at 62%.

American patterns of settlement in the 19th century saw the midwestern region disproportionately populated by Scandinavians, which may account for the area's relatively impressive educational stats, via Northern European values possibly carrying over into today's Iowa parenting styles. Northern Europe today continues to receive praise for its well-performing students, with Finland in particular a veritable scholastic superstar. Could whatever formula for success that makes Scandinavia so impressive in the classroom be popping up stateside?

Via the Des Moines Register.

What do you think accounts for Iowa's higher graduation rates?

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

Conservative values, no question.

[Cheenoguy]

The same conservative values that led them to vote for Obama?

[Waynestew]

@Cheenoguy My thoughts exactly. These "conservative" must be very smart to go beyond politics and vote for Obama

[woodtick57]

conservative values to take all those ethanol subsidies?

[Phreakwars]

Conservative values? You mean the values which cut education funding? Or the keen science ones that claim the Earth is only 6000 years old? For sure it isn't the spelling ability, I've seen the tea party signs. Isn't the math ability either, that's a fact.. so WHAT conservative values would that be?

[Phreakwars]

BTW if it's "CONSERVATIVE VALUES", what's the excuse for Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, etc, etc, etc??? Too many liberals?

[DerivePI]

I've got Van Halen on my mind...

[twinertia]

I don't feel tardy.....

[CanisCanemEdit]

@twinertia - Gimme something to write on, man.

[twinertia]

You got your pencil?

[jessejaymes]

In the case of Iowa there are more pigs than people and that smell can get pretty obnoxious (not that they smell it anymore). I know I'd graduate and hope for something better.

[DARSB]

As an Iowa native I am not surprised at the high graduation rates. Ever between to Iowa? Other than school there's really not much going on there.:-)

[stepped_in_it]

You mean in Iowa, men are men, women are scarce and sheep are scared?

[woodtick57]

Also usually at the top of pot use by teens!

[RobertJHarsh]

I think you are correct. I have never been there but I am not sure why anyone would either. It's seems boring. Does Iowa have anything worth looking at?

[martydotcom]

iowa to be congratulated. They left out low 5% unemployment figure - education pays off. But Iowa has a big head start on other states that is not mentioned. Iowa has a 91% white population with small but growing Hispanic population (English as a second language diverts resources in border states)

[stepped_in_it]

Asking a lot of Iowa, aren't you?

[stepped_in_it]

Of what I saw of Iowa, there was no where to hide (it was so flat). So, playing hooky from school was almost impossible since from 1/2 a mile you can tell if a flipped quarter is heads/tails!!

[Waynestew]

Must be some smart people out it Iowa. After all they voted for Obama.

[woodtick57]

parental involvement is one of the main components of a good education.

[CanisCanemEdit]

I agree. However I have to submit that there must be a corolary between illegal immigration and the burdon it puts on schools affected and graduation rates.

Here is a wonderful graph that has been around since '90 showing the '90 through '09 graduation rates.

http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/index.ph...

Why is it do you suppose that the rates get exponentially higher the further from the Mexican border you look?

Is there another factor?

[woodtick57]

@CanisCanemEdit

Do you realize those stats looked like that before the huge influx of immigration? must be some other explanation....

[StupidlyKrazi]

@CanisCanemEdit

Ofcourse you need to blame immgrants, most who come to america looking for a better life such as better jobs and education. Many immgrants illegal or not do way better in school than "so called american childern who ancestors were also immgrants"

SAD! Why don't you try to find another reason why Americas public school system is so bad in the south compared to the north?

[CanisCanemEdit]

@woodtick57 - I'm listening. What other idea covers that southern demographic in the area of High School Graduation all along the Mexican border?

[CanisCanemEdit]

@StupidlyKrazi - Why don't you give another idea as to why the American public school system is so bad along the Mexican border from California to Louisianna?

Oddly enough, those are all the primary states that have the biggest illegal immigration problems.

[Zoe2012]

I don't know but I sure wish Ohio would improve. 69% of the people without a high school diploma voted for Obama, we really have problems!

[AceLuby]

Which accounts for a whopping 3% of the electorate... and includes students still in high school... what a useless statistic.

[Zoe2012]

@AceLuby Are you sure about that?

[Keyjo]

All those Married, same gender couples are adopting and making great, inspirational parents.

[DerivePI]

fewer people with low IQs.

[kirbstomp1]

What's there to do in Iowa? I would probably go to school too. Lol

[Denizen_Kate]

I don't know what accounts for it, but I hope the rest of the country takes note and copies some of Iowa's obviously good educational policies.

[DerivePI]

You must first determine what accounts for the high performance of the state before you can determine which good educational policies should be copied. Even Politix didn't make the mistake of attributing Iowa's graduation rate to school performance (they attribute it to race). Iowa officials note that, even with their stellar performance, the minority race performances are not up to par with other states. Ignoring the racial dark side, one thing that correlates with school performance, is the economic status of the family. Teacher/student ratio and cost per student does not correlate with school performance.

[SavageMazx]

I agree lets not turn this into an R vs D, look at what they did and duplicate it elsewhere

[Phreakwars]

Being an Iowan, educated in the Iowa school system, I can tell you EXACTLY what it is. Non partisan commitment to the students, excellent teachers and a zero tolerance for bullying. The kids have an environment to actually LEARN, & are not pressured by outside influences. Give a kid the right environment, you'll create an honor roll student.

[Dan_Tien]

"American patterns of settlement in the 19th century saw the midwestern region disproportionately populated by Scandinavians, which may account for the area's relatively impressive educational stats"...
Ja, produzieren gute Aryans ubermensch!
Oh please....

[Dan_Tien]

There is no reason to believe that a writer named Dain is not totally unbiased and objective about the supposition that Scandinavian Americans are smarter and more focused on education than other Americans. Just because I have worked with people who grew up in Iowa who unabashedly stated that people from Iowa are stronger, smarter and better looking than most everybody else in the US, does not mean that it is a common sentiment in that state, either.

[Real4WheelDrv]

@Dan_Tien Sorta like the way one angry Texan is worth ten "ordinary" people?"

[SmedleyButler]

So what? The standard of our students compared to the rest of the first world, our kids are functionally retarded.

[StupidlyKrazi]

Only because they are lazy and don't really care for education as long as they have their ipods/iphones and laptop computers they don't have a care in the world.

[SmedleyButler]

@StupidlyKrazi I disagree, the countries that are kicking our butts, have all the devices our kids have. They teach their kids different. They don't shove political agendas like we do here. I believe some of these countries just teach the kids math for the first years of their development. Math is the universal language.

We have to start looking at unpopular politically incorrect subjects like, the epidemic of learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorders. Look at these countries with gifted children, Funny how their immunizations are optional, and a lot of parents wait until their kid's brains get through the delicate period of development. Meanwhile, here we lobotomize our kids as soon as they're born. You can't EVEN LOOK INTO THAT THESES IN THIS COUNTRY.
Any dissension from the academic mafia is instantly squashed. The kids that are gifted are pigeon holed into the boring mainstream , failed public school classes. Why is it home schooled kids doing better than their public school peers? Our educational oligarchy needs to fall. Our fiscal cliff could be hope. Maybe then, we can revamp the whole system.

[StupidlyKrazi]

The guy who posted this up is clearly biased because what the HELL does any childs ancestory have to do with how well they do in school. Iowa being first in the nation in gradiation rates is only because of the teachers, students, and parents not because they "probably" have a northern european background. Smh people these days with their need to make themself feel better.

[jamie91]

Cultural value placed on education.

[truthsayer]

Not that I'm discounting the success that Iowa seems to have had with there graduation rates but I'd be curious to see how difficult the curriculum is and how it matches up to other states.

[Big-R]

I was thinking the same thing.

[AceLuby]

They have the same minimum standards as everyone else.

[Thegrif]

Great, just great! Soon to be another bunch of grads that can't find jobs.

[Sabio]

less "diversity" and "ghetto culture", less liberals, less morons, less drug addicts and abusers, pretty much less of all we stand for here in CA and is taking us under.

[AceLuby]

Are you claiming it was conservatives that led Iowa to go to Obama? They have better schooling because they pay for it.

[Sabio]

no, i was stating that California in general sucks, our schools are destroyed and it is mainly due to our embrace of thug, ghetto culture which you dont have.

[Sabio]

@AceLuby i dont think there are any ghettos in Iowa are there?

[AceLuby]

@Sabio There aren't a lot of things in Iowa

[joyshusband]

Not sure about Iowas reasons for success, but as always more info is needed. For example, I graduated in 1989 in SC, minimum grade for passing was 70 out of 100, my son is in twelfth grade this year in WV, minimum grade for passing is 65 out of 100.