(Radio Iowa) – The Department of Education reports that high school graduation rates are back to pre-pandemic levels for the first time since 2020. The Department reports the high school graduation rate was up eight-tenths of a percent in 2024 to 88-point-three percent — the same four-year graduation rate as the class of 2019. The graduation rate for females was three-point-two percent higher than the rate for males at 89-point-nine percent.

Iowa’s graduation rate for 2024 is significantly higher than several neighboring states, with only Missouri and Wisconsin reporting graduation rates above Iowa’s, at 90-point-eight percent and 91-point-one percent.