The major emphasis of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) has been directed toward individuals in the 1972 high school graduating class. Consequently, sampling parameters were established to ensure student representation, and the bulk of data collected were individual-level data. School-level data exist on a…

The basic design of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) called for repeated surveys of a statistical sample of the Class of 1972. Each sample member was followed so as to build a historical database that would allow the investigation of the complex developmental paths that occur in the transition years from high…

This is a report on the data collection activities of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972(NLS). This phase of the operation involved the first follow-up contact with the 22,654 seniors selected for participation in this study. The fieldwork for the first follow-up was scheduled between July 1973 and January 1974; it…

An outline is presented of the design of the followup surveys of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS). The NLS is an extensive study of the educational, vocational, and personal development of high school graduates, and the personal, familial, social, institutional, and cultural factors that contribute to that…

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,…

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…

This conference was held to review the base year activities of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) and the First Followup Study. Planning also took place for the design of the Second Followup Study and the Cohort Study of the High School Class of 1977. The participants included invited consultants and…

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…

The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 was initiated in the spring of 1972. A national probability sample of l8,000 students from 1,070 schools completed a Student Questionnaire dealing with factors related to personal and family background, educational and work experiences, plans, aspirations, attitudes, and opinions.…