The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 obtained data for 23,451 students, of whom 16,683 completed the base-year questionnaire; 21,350 completed the first follow-up; and 20,872 completed the second follow-up. This report describes the methodology for minimizing bias in the data which might be caused by nonresponse to such…

A major purpose of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) was to provide a data base for studies concerned with the relationship between high school experience and experience in the years immediately following graduation. This methodological report is designed to facilitate use of the data base. The sample was…

This planning conference was one in a series of such conferences aimed at providing continuous guidance for the development of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) a study designed to discover what happens to young adults after they leave high school, and to relate this information to earlier educational…

This document supports the survey questionnaire to be administered to a sample of over 22,000 young adults in the second follow-up of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Data collection activities were scheduled to start in October 1974 and be completed by March 1975. The field test of the survey questionnaire,…

The growing complexity of policy decisions in such areas as education and manpower necessitates increased research, which in turn requires an adequate data base and adequate methodology. Recognition that the variables affecting the vocational and educational choices of high school graduates are interrelated and require examination from several…

Activities involved in the collection and assembling of data for computer processing from the first followup survey of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) are briefly described. Included are an overview of the NLS; the sample design and survey participation; the development of the first followup survey…

The status of the high school class of 1972, as it was two years after graduation in October 1974, is described in terms of questionnaire survey responses. Students from 1,153 high schools participated and 20,872 students responded to the questionnaire out of the total group of 23,451. The development, administration, and reliability of the survey…

The National Longitudinal Study of the Class of 1972 represents a rich data source on life events experienced by a national sample of U.S. students from the time they left school until just after their thirtieth birthdays. Using this public-use source for other than educational research is discussed. (SLD)

A review of the literature on the validity and reliability of survey data is presented prior to an analysis of the reliability of selected questions in the Second Followup Questionnaire of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS). The reliability study includes an evaluation of test-retest reliability as a function of…