Research addressed the relative effectiveness of the three types of vocational delivery systems: comprehensive, full-time vocational, and area vocational schools. Data were from the 1980 sophomore and senior cohorts of the High School and Beyond national longitudinal database. Descriptive findings regarding full-time vocational and comprehensive high schools suggested that vocational teachers often have an associate degree or less and more work experience than academic instructors; students in vocational high schools are from lower socioeconomic status/ability quartiles, are disproportionately male, and are more likely to concentrate in a vocational specialty; and comprehensive high school graduates are more likely to attend postsecondary schools. Individual-level findings of multivariate analysis indicated that verbal and mathematics scores are significantly lower among students attending area vocational schools; no reliable effect was found for school type when wages were examined; dropout rates were substantially the same; and attendance at a vocational school or area vocational school does not affect rates of postsecondary participation. Institutional aggregate results revealed slight differences: seniors in vocational schools have higher average verbal scores, dropout rates are lower in smaller schools, and no differences were found in program-related placement, mathematics scores, levels of postsecondary attendance, absenteeism, and dropout rates. Data is displayed in 33 tables. References are included. (YLB)