Path analysis was used to test the T into model of college dropouts using a sample drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Findings support the notion that commitment to the goal of college completion has the strongest effect on persistence. (Author/GK)

The evolving influence of student financial aid on year-to-year persistence for three student cohorts, the high school classes of 1972, 1980, and 1982 are examined. A comparative analysis of the National Longitudinal Study and High School and Beyond Survey is presented. (Author/MLW)

Characteristics of graduates who completed bachelor's degrees within 4 years of high school graduation were compared with graduates who took longer than 4 years. Data were obtained from the Postsecondary School Transcripts Study, a supplement to the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. The sample consisted of 4,440…

Drawing on data from a national longitudinal study (n=12,841), research examined the relationship of activities after college, particularly among students who spent the first year after college neither working nor in school, to later life. Results indicate that neither working nor attending school during this year had neither strong nor consistent…

This study explored the relationship between undergraduate educational loan indebtedness and graduate school aspirations, application, enrollment, and persistence, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of 1972 and from the 1980 and 1982 cohorts of the High School and Beyond study. The analysis was limited to full-time students who did…

Using a structural equation model of educational attainment, a study extends and supports previous investigations of educational discontinuities among American White and Black males and females by using data from a national longitudinal study. (MSE)

It is argued that public investment in student financial aid should be evaluated based on tax revenue returns resulting from the expenditure. A model for estimating tax revenue returns from gains in educational attainment attributable to student aid is developed, and impact of aid on access and persistence is examined. (Author/MSE)

This study analyzes the results of the increased access of students to postsecondary vocational education, especially in two-year colleges, in terms of completion rates and job placement. Data examined include the following: (1) initial enrollments in higher education; (2) fields of study in postsecondary education; (3) progress through…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) for a sample of students who had completed a four-year college course were examined for difference in locus of control (LOC) and self concept (SC) of persisters and changers in six college majors. Data were based on two four-item five-point questionnaire scales which were administered in 1972, 1973,…

Declining birth rates in the 1960s have caused some to forecast shortages of new scientists and engineers by the end of this decade. Students in national longitudinal studies begun in 1972 and 1980 were compared, and it was concluded that a decline in the supply of engineers and scientists is unlikely. (Author/MLW)

Information from the National Longitudinal Study (1972 seniors), the High School and Beyond Study (1980 seniors and sophomores) and the Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (1984) is analyzed to compare the patterns of enrollment, persistence, and attainment among these groups from their high school graduation until 1986. Subgroups by sex,…

This study examined the impact of work and family roles on the probability of students in early adulthood completing the associate or baccalaureate degree. It also looked at the effect of gender on degree completion and differences between adult associate and baccalaureate degree seekers. The study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of…

Characteristics and attendance patterns of persisters and dropouts from college and vocational/technical schools were studied, and a model of the persistence process was tested using data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS), which surveyed high school seniors in 1972, with followup surveys in 1973 and 1974. Student persistence was defined…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) including the 1976 follow-up were used to examine the effects of interrupting or delaying school attendance on the eventual educational attainment of white male students. Background variables include socioeconomic and other family characteristics. Achievement test…

The postsecondary educational experiences of black and white high school graduates who entered college between 1972 and 1974 were studied, with a focus on the effects of institutional characteristics on students. Data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of the high school senior class of 1972 for entrants to two- or four-year…