Overview
A nationally representative sample of eighth-graders were first surveyed
in the spring of 1988. A sample of these respondents were then resurveyed
through four follow-ups in 1990, 1992, 1994, and 2000. On the questionnaire,
students reported on a range of topics including: school, work, and home
experiences; educational resources and support; the role in education
of their parents and peers; neighborhood characteristics; educational
and occupational aspirations; and other student perceptions. Additional
topics included self-reports on smoking, alcohol and drug use and extracurricular
activities. For the three in-school waves of data collection (when most
were eighth-graders, sophomores, or seniors), achievement tests in reading,
social studies, mathematics and science were administered in addition
to the student questionnaire.
To further enrich the data, students' teachers, parents, and school administrators
were also surveyed. Coursework and grades from students' high school and
postsecondary transcripts are also available in the restricted use dataset
- although some composite variables have been made available in the public
use file.
The NELS:88 data can be used for policy-relevant research about educational
processes and outcomes, for example: student learning; early and late
predictors of dropping out; and school effects on students' access to
programs and equal opportunity to learn.
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More about the data collection waves:
The base year of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88)
represents the first stage of this major longitudinal effort designed
to provide trend data about critical transitions experienced by students
as they leave middle or junior high school, and progress through high
school and into postsecondary institutions or the work force.
The first follow-up in 1990 constitutes the first opportunity for longitudinal
measurements from the 1988 baseline. It also provides a comparison point
to high school sophomores-ten years before, as studied in HS&B. The
dataset captures the population of early dropouts (those who leave school
prior to the end of tenth grade), while monitoring the transition of the
student population into secondary schooling.
The second follow-up took place early in 1992, when most sample members
were in the second term of their senior year. The second follow-up provides
a culminating measurement of learning in the course of secondary school,
and also collects information that will facilitate investigation of the
transition into the labor force and postsecondary education after high
school. Because the NELS:88 sample was freshened to represent the high
school class of 1992, trend comparisons can be made to the high school
classes of 1972 and 1980 that were studied in NLS-72 and HS&B. The
NELS:88 second follow-up returned to students who were identified as dropouts
in 1990, and identified and surveyed additional students who had left
school since the prior wave.
The third follow-up took place in 1994, when most sample members had
completed high school. The primary goals of the 1994 round were: 1) to
provide data for trend comparisons with NLS-72 and HS&B; 2) to address
issues of employment and postsecondary access and choice; and 3) to ascertain
how many dropouts have returned to school and by what route.
Data from the fourth follow-up interview in 2000 will permit researchers
to examine what this cohort had accomplished 12 years after the eighth-grade
baseline survey. The 2000 data were collected at a key stage of life transitions
for the eighth-grade class of 1988-most had been out of high school for
nearly 8 years. Many had already completed postsecondary education, started
or even changed careers, and started to form families. The public use
fourth follow-up data is now available.
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Public Use Data Files
Researchers may obtain a free copy of the NELS:88 public use data files
and electronic codebook (ECB) from the NELS:88 contact persons.
Restricted Data License
For access to restricted NELS:88 data, researchers will need to obtain
(or amend) an NCES
restricted data license due to NCES's confidentiality legislation.
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