Analysis of National Longitudinal Survey and of High School and Beyond data pinpoints the reason for a decline in the gender earnings gap, 1979-86 among college-educated workers. Changes in estimated effects of college grades and major for women account for almost all of the decline, indicating growth in the market price of women's skills. (SK)

The different preferences for occupational roles and college majors of the recent college graduates in this study account for one-third to two-thirds of the gender differences in earnings three years after graduation. The implications for estimating labor market discrimination are discussed. (SK)

Overall, college graduates' earnings increased compared to high school graduates' in the 1980s. For men, skills acquired before college had not effect on the increase; for women, returns to math ability rose considerably. For men, the trend away from such subjects as education and toward engineering accounted for one-fourth of the rise in relative…

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,…

Data from the 1979 follow-up of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 suggested that early career experiences of undergraduate humanities majors differed little from contemporaries in other liberal arts fields, but contrasted with those in which job-major fit was better or pay higher. (Author/MLW)

A causal framework was used to explore factors that influence the enrollment of four-year college students in the hard and technical sciences (math, science, engineering) and the professions (pre-law, medicine, dentistry). The factors studied were family status, standardized test performance, high school rank, educational expectations, high school…

First jobs and career attainments soon after graduation of college graduates with baccalaureate degrees in the humanities were studied. Outcomes for humanities majors were also compared to social science, business, and education majors, as well as graduates who majored in interdisciplinary studies in the liberal arts and sciences. Data were…

The codebook for the Postsecondary Education Transcript File of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72), which is a machine-readable data file containing information on transcripts from NLS-72 senior cohort members who reported attending a postsecondary institution after high school, is presented. Records were…

This report uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 and the High School & Beyond/Sophomores Study to summarize information on what is studied, where, and by whom, in the nation's colleges, community colleges, and postsecondary trade schools. Section 1 describes how the data is based on that which the…

The Postsecondary Education Transcript File of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) is a machine-readable data file containing information on transcripts from NLS-72 senior cohort members who reported attending a postsecondary institution after high school. Records were obtained from all types of educational…

Courses taken for the bachelor's degrees are examined for specific majors and overall fields of study (i.e., education, humanities, social sciences, quantitative fields, and business). Analyses are based on college transcripts of 4,440 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Majors in quantitative fields…

Changes that occurred between 1972 and 1980 in the intended field of study and occupational aspirations of high school seniors were investigated, along with how successfully seniors attained their aspirations. Background, personal, and school variables associated with selecting each occupation and field among the 1980 seniors were analyzed…

A longitudinal study of the educational paths of humanities majors was conducted with a sample of high school seniors who participated in the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) of the High School Class of 1972. Comparisons to the 1980 NLS seniors cohort were also made. Students completed a survey as seniors as well as four follow-up surveys. The…

The way that the educational and occupational attainment of Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics are affected by the type of college attended and the student's field of study was investigated. The effects of attending a two-year/vocational college versus a four-year college and of pursuing a technical or hard science program versus education and social…

Data from the postsecondary transcripts of high school seniors included in the High School and Beyond (HS&B) study of the class of 1980 and the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) of the Senior Class of 1972 were analyzed to investigate the participation of students in two-year postsecondary programs. The analyses focused mainly on the…