Cedar Rapids
Five Districts, 27% of the Problem: Iowa's Chronic Absence Concentration
Correction (July 20, 2026): An earlier version said 327 districts reported data, described a nine-year concentration trend when district K-12 records are available for four years, and understated both...
136 Iowa Districts Are at Their All-Time High Graduation Rate
When Iowa's graduation data for the Class of 2024 is sorted district by district, a striking pattern emerges: 136 districts posted their highest graduation rate in the six years of available data. Tha...
The Suburban-Urban Divide: West Des Moines at 90%, Des Moines at 71%
Correction (July 23, 2026): An earlier version said Des Moines serves more students than the six suburban districts combined; those suburbs enroll more students than Des Moines. It also said Iowa City...
The Special Ed Gap Is 18 Points -- Iowa's Most Persistent Equity Divide
Special education students in Iowa graduated at 70% in 2024. The statewide average was 88%. The 18-point gap between the two is the widest equity divide in Iowa's graduation data after Native American...
Des Moines Has Lost 5 Points Since 2019 — The State Capital's Graduation Slide
Correction (July 23, 2026): An earlier version said Des Moines serves more students than the four largest suburbs combined; those suburbs enroll more. It also gave the special education gap as 27 poin...