National Longitudinal Study of the Class of 1972 Series

collection: series

Investigator(s): National Center for Education Statistics

Studies

2

Variables

9,768

Publications

437

About this Collection

The National Longitudinal Study of the Class of 1972 studies describe the transition of young adults from high school through postsecondary education and the workplace. The data span 1972 through 1986 and include college transcripts.

NCES also provides access to National Longitudinal Study of the Class of 1972 data through the DAS Web site. At this site you will find a link to a Windows software data analysis application (DAS). Users must download this software to their personal computers, create and submit their own specifications to generate statistical tables to this Web site, and retrieve their results.

For more information, visit NLS at NCES.

Studies

2 results
Partially restricted

National Longitudinal Study of the Class of 1972

This longitudinal data collection supplies information on the educational, vocational, and personal development of young people who were high school seniors in 1972 and examines the kinds of factors -- personal, familial, social, institutional, and cultural -- that may affect that development. The collection provides a broad spectrum of information on each student and covers areas such as ability, socioeconomic status, home background, community environment, ethnicity, significant others, current activity at time of survey, educational attainment, school experiences, school performance, work status, work performance and satisfaction, goal orientations, marriage and the family, and military experience.

Data collected in the base-year (1972) focus on factors relating to the student's personal/family background, education and work experiences, plans, aspirations, attitudes, and opinions. The first follow-up, which was conducted in 1973, offers information on the respondent's activity state (education, work, etc.), socioeconomic status, work and educational experience since leaving high school, future plans, and expectations. The second follow-up (1974) probes respondents on similar measures but is augmented by additional variables pertaining to work and education. The third follow-up (1976) contains additional items on graduate school application and entry, job supervision, sex roles, sex and race biases, and a subjective rating of high school experiences. The fourth follow-up (1979) offers data similar to the other follow-ups but includes some variables that were modified to elicit unique information. For the fifth follow-up, the sample members averaged 32 years of age and had been out of high school for 14 years. In addition to covering the same subject areas as the previous surveys, this follow-up includes additional questions on marital history, divorce, child support, and economic relationships in modern families.

Part 1 of this collection contains base-year data as well as data collected during four subsequent follow-ups undertaken in 1973, 1974, 1976, and 1979, while Part 11 contains fifth follow-up data for 1986. Part 2, the School File, contains information obtained from the respondent's high school and also from high school counselors. Data are available on school organization and enrollment, course offerings, special services and programs, library and other resources, time scheduling, and grading systems. Counselor information is supplied on work loads, counseling practices and facilities, experience with student financial aid programs, age, ethnicity, training, and experience. A supplementary School District Census File, Part 3, contains 1970 Census data tabulated by school district boundaries. In addition, the collection includes a FICE Code File and a CEEB Institutional Data Base File that can be used in conjunction with the student file to supply contextual information about respondents' colleges. The Institutional Data Base File offers data for colleges and universities on items such as enrollment, income and revenues, expenses, tuition and fees, and median student scores on standardized tests. Parts 7, 8, 9 and 10 contain transcript data from each postsecondary institution reported by sample members in the first through fourth follow-up surveys. Data are available for several types of postsecondary institutions, ranging from short-term vocational or occupational programs through major universities with graduate programs and professional schools. Data in these four rectangular files -- Student, Transcript, Term, and Course Files -- are organized to be used in combination hierarchically. Information is available on terms of attendance, fields of study, specific courses taken, and grades and credits earned. The Fifth Follow-Up Teaching Supplement (Parts 12) surveyed those members of the original 1972 sample who had obtained teaching certificates and/or who had teaching experience. Respondents were asked questions about their qualifications, experience, and attitudes toward teaching.

Location Information for National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72): Fifth Follow-Up Survey, 1986

This study provides supplementary data for the NATIONAL LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASS of 1972 (ICPSR 8085) that is not available in public-use files. The supplementary data is location information on respondents to the Fifth Follow-Up Survey of the NLS-72. The data file contains two variables: an individual identifier and state of residence (in 1986). The identifier allows researchers to link the location information to the public-use files for the Fifth Follow-Up Survey. By the time of the Fifth Follow-Up Survey (conducted in the Spring and Summer of 1986), the sample members averaged 32 years of age and had been out of high school for 14 years. These data were acquired for a project on the geographic mobility of college-educated workers in the United States. The project investigated the impact of attending college in a state and on the probability of locating in the state after college.
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