National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988

This collection represents the first stage of a major
longitudinal effort to provide trend data about critical transitions
experienced by students as they leave elementary school and progress
through high school and into college or their careers. The 1988
eighth-grade cohort will be followed at two-year intervals as this
group passes through high school and postsecondary education. The
longitudinal data collected will yield policy-relevant information
about educational processes and outcomes, early and later predictors of
dropping out, and students' access to programs and equal opportunity.
The study has four types of data files. The Parent Component was
designed to collect information about the factors that influence
educational attainment and participation, including questions exploring
family background and socioeconomic conditions and character of the
home educational system. The School Administrator component was
designed to gather general descriptive information about the
educational settings in which the surveyed students were enrolled in
the winter and spring of 1988. These data were collected from the chief
administrator of each base-year school and concern school
characteristics, grading and testing structure, school culture and
academic climate, program and facilities information, parental
interactions and involvement, and teaching staff characteristics. The
Student Component collected information on school work, aspirations,
social relationships, and basic achievement areas such as reading,
mathematics, science, and social studies. The Teacher Component
provided data that could be used to analyze the behaviors and outcomes
of the student sample. Teachers were surveyed about the base-year
students' characteristics and performance in the classroom, curriculum
and classes for eighth graders, and teacher demographics, professional
characteristics, and relationships with other teachers, students, and
parents.