Iowa leads the nation in high school graduation rate. (Des Moines: 2015, how much)

[smpliving]

"Iowa topped the list at 90%. The rate was the highest since the Department of Education started using a new uniform measure in 2010. To determine the rate, the number of graduates in a given year is divided by the number of students who enrolled four years earlier. Adjustments are made for transfers. Growth in high school graduation rates in recent years has been spurred by factors such a greater awareness off the dropout problem and efforts to include graduation rates in accountability measures of how schools are performing, researchers have said."

U.S. High School Graduation Rate Hits All-Time High - US News

Iowa has highest high school graduation rate in U.S. - Omaha.com: Iowa

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by rigizug

"Iowa topped the list at 90%. The rate was the highest since the Department of Education started using a new uniform measure in 2010. To determine the rate, the number of graduates in a given year is divided by the number of students who enrolled four years earlier. Adjustments are made for transfers. Growth in high school graduation rates in recent years has been spurred by factors such a greater awareness off the dropout problem and efforts to include graduation rates in accountability measures of how schools are performing, researchers have said."

U.S. High School Graduation Rate Hits All-Time High - US News

Iowa has highest high school graduation rate in U.S. - Omaha.com: Iowa

Good news. The Upper Midwest and northern New England generally do the best when it comes to this metric.

[UKWildcat1981]

You can't get a good job today with just a HS degree on average, even with a undergrad degree it can be hard to find a high paying job but it depends on your friend.

[lurtsman]

That is actually...quite good. Despite my regular Iowa bashing, the methods used to calculate the metrics appear very reasonable.

I'm only concerned that New Jersey and Texas are also on the list

[funksoulbro]

Originally Posted by rigizug

"Iowa topped the list at 90%. The rate was the highest since the Department of Education started using a new uniform measure in 2010.

That's because there's nothing else for kids in Iowa to do. You have two choices as a child growing up Iowa: watch corn grow, or attend your local school. Since memorizing state capitals and reciting the alphabet is slightly more entertaining than watching corn stalks emerge from the soil, Iowa kids tend to stick with education.

In states where they have actual cities with interesting things going on all the time, kids can get distracted from attending school. Iowa is fortunate to be blessed with its soul-numbing blandness.

[fezzador]

While that's something for Iowa to be proud of, it's the quality of the education that these kids receive that is concerning. Iowa schools no longer have the reputation for quality that they used to, and have fallen further and further down the line the past several decades to the point that calling an Iowa public school education "average" might actually be a compliment. There's far more to an education than simply being literate (something Iowa has traditionally championed), it's that the students are lagging further and further behind in subjects like mathematics and social studies.

Add to that fact that Iowa public school teachers are in the bottom quartile in salaries... Iowa is not exactly a poor state, but is paying some of its most valued assets like it is one. This has got to change too.

[lurtsman]

Originally Posted by fezzador

While that's something for Iowa to be proud of, it's the quality of the education that these kids receive that is concerning. Iowa schools no longer have the reputation for quality that they used to, and have fallen further and further down the line the past several decades to the point that calling an Iowa public school education "average" might actually be a compliment. There's far more to an education than simply being literate (something Iowa has traditionally championed), it's that the students are lagging further and further behind in subjects like mathematics and social studies.

Add to that fact that Iowa public school teachers are in the bottom quartile in salaries... Iowa is not exactly a poor state, but is paying some of its most valued assets like it is one. This has got to change too.

Isn't Des Moines in the bottom quartile for cost of living? With Des Moines being the biggest population hub, shouldn't an area with a low cost of living also have low salaries relative to areas with higher cost of living? I don't actually see any problem in that part.

[fezzador]

Originally Posted by lurtsman

Isn't Des Moines in the bottom quartile for cost of living? With Des Moines being the biggest population hub, shouldn't an area with a low cost of living also have low salaries relative to areas with higher cost of living? I don't actually see any problem in that part.

Not going to lie, I pulled the "bottom quartile" stat from my backside. It was about 10 years ago that I last heard that Iowa was somewhere around 40th in the country in starting teacher pay, I just looked at a map (either 2013 or 2014) and it's actually closer to middle of the pack. It pays higher than states like Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, and Arizona (the last two surprised me the most).

Here it is:

How much teachers get paid — state by state - The Washington Post

Regarding COL though, I'd like to know why a teacher in Kentucky or Louisiana (two poor states) would make more than a teacher in Virginia or Utah (two fairly well-off states).

[Qwerty]

Originally Posted by fezzador

Not going to lie, I pulled the "bottom quartile" stat from my backside. It was about 10 years ago that I last heard that Iowa was somewhere around 40th in the country in starting teacher pay, I just looked at a map (either 2013 or 2014) and it's actually closer to middle of the pack. It pays higher than states like Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, and Arizona (the last two surprised me the most).

Here it is:

How much teachers get paid — state by state - The Washington Post

Regarding COL though, I'd like to know why a teacher in Kentucky or Louisiana (two poor states) would make more than a teacher in Virginia or Utah (two fairly well-off states).

Because teaching there is generally harder and less attractive...

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Good news. The Upper Midwest and northern New England generally do the best when it comes to this metric.

In addition, Iowa has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation.