A clear set of student performance goals can serve as the central driver of not only a state's accountability system, but also the entire education system. Well-articulated goals serve numerous critical purposes, including clarifying the state's aspirations and priorities for its students, schools, and the future of the state more broadly; focusing policy, practice, and resources on the most effective strategies to achieve their goals; and signaling the need to adjust course along the way if a state is not meeting its trajectory. This brief examines long-term goals for improving graduation rates included in states' submitted Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plans as of January 2018; for states whose plans were approved by the U.S. Department of Education at the time of publication, the analysis is based on the long-term goals in their final plans. The brief offers early insights into the varied approaches states have taken in setting long-term goals, and the timelines and trajectories to reach them. It also compares the baselines states are working from in setting their trajectories, and given states' increased autonomy for setting their goals under ESSA, compares differences in the approaches states have used to set their goals per their ESSA plans. It then takes a closer look at how states' graduation goals vary for different groups of students. Next, the brief looks at how states' goals for graduation rates and academic achievement converge -- or diverge. And finally, it lays out a set of recommendations for states as they turn to the difficult task of making their graduation goals into a reality.