This addendum describes the nature, rationale, and results of the second cleaning and revision of the National Longitudinal Study of 1972 (NLS-72) Postsecondary Education Transcript Files (PETS). This project, conducted for nearly 3 years, followed an initial cleaning and reduction in 1987, which came about as a reaction to the idiosyncratic…

This study of degree completion followed a national cohort of students from 10th grade (in 1980) through 1993 (High School and Beyond/Sophomore data base). Data included high school and college transcripts, test scores, and surveys. Using linear regression techniques, the study identified a model that accounts for about 43 percent of the variance…

Previously published or publicly accessed data, as well as two new sources--Postsecondary Transcript Sample (PETS) of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Graduating Class of 1972 (NLS), and the recently completed 5th Follow-Up Survey (1986) of the NLS cohort, with original calculations derived--were used for this statistical study…