Iowa
Attainment
Current State Attainment Rate
49.6%
State Attainment Rate Goal*
70%
*70 percent of Iowa's workforce will have education or training beyond high school by the year 2025. Goal set by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad in 2016.
State Policy Recommendations
Set a Goal
100%
Track Progress
75%
Technical Assistance
Lumina provides technical assistance funds and consulting support to state leaders and organizations working to increase post-high school education levels in their states.
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Set a Goal
Set a Goal
Set an ambitious goal
Statewide goals help state leaders, college and university officials, employers, and community representatives establish a shared agenda. A strong goal meets these criteria:
Quantifiable. Includes a number or percentage increase that can be quantitatively measured over time
Challenging. Represents a stretch. For example, it cannot be easily achieved by following historic trends
Time-specific. Tied to a long-term target date to demonstrate commitment and drive expectations
Addresses gaps. Designed to close attainment gaps for underrepresented populations, particularly students who are Black, Hispanic, or Native American; people from low-income families, and adults who have not yet earned credentials.
Codified. Formalized in a way that influences the state's postsecondary strategic plan, budgeting practices and/or state policy initiatives
Track Progress
Track Progress
Track progress toward the goal
Accountability metrics and dashboards help support and measure progress toward state attainment goals. This includes:
Metrics. Limited number of metrics are identified to monitor interim progress toward the goal
State-identified priority populations. Metrics are disaggregated by the state’s priority populations to identify and monitor gaps
Publicly available dashboards. Data dashboard is published online and accessible to the public to show these metrics and their trends
Annual reports. Metrics and dashboard are updated at least annually
South Dakota
Other State Progress
South Dakota
Lumina's state policy agenda reflects the shifts in state policy needed to reach the nation's 60% attainment goal. These policies provide clear steps to drive their education reform needs.
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A Stronger Nation
49.6% attainment rate in Iowa

Iowa's overall rate of educational attainment has increased by 10.8 percentage points since 2008.

Compare to other states »