In response to mounting concerns about the cost of college, lawmakers have proposed major new partnerships between the federal government and states to tackle college affordability. The Education Trust maintains that any new federal-state proposal aimed at making college more affordable must also simultaneously address completion problems by leveraging new investments to ensure that incoming students are better prepared, and making sure that colleges and universities prioritize student success, especially among historically underserved groups of students. In this report, Santos and Haycock contribute to the public discussion of the needed contours of effective policy solutions to America's college attainment problem. The report is presented in three sections. First, a look at the problems that make more comprehensive action essential and an examination of the key drivers of those problems. Second, a review of past federal-state partnerships, identifying some of the most salient lessons. Third, laying out a set of questions that advocates, analysts, and policymakers should ask about any new proposal for a new federal-state partnership in higher education, focusing not on the size of the investment but on eligibility and performance requirements.