Appendix A

Upcoming cohorts for national educational data sets.

Appendix B

As mentioned in the "Key Issues and Strategies," there are eight basic questions that could be addressed with national data. Yet only five of the eight questions can be addressed using national data. Below are the data sets that can be used with their corresponding letter designation.

1. What is the contribution of postsecondary vocational education to wages and earnings?

2. What are the characteristics of particularly effective postsecondary vocational programs?

3. To what extent do recent graduates believe that their vocational program provided the correct mix of academic, occupational, and work-readiness skills?

4. To what extent do students enrolled in postsecondary vocational programs possess adequate academic preparation? In addition to vocational studies, do they also take academic coursework while enrolled?

5. How efficiently do students progress to their career goal? Is "milling around" harmful to students? What are the implications for accountability requirements? Academic and career counseling functions?

Appendix C

A description of national data sets mentioned in the paper.

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

The IPEDS surveys most postsecondary institutions annually, including universities and colleges, as well as institutions offering technical and vocational education beyond the high school level. IPEDS began in 1986, replacing the Higher Education General Education Information Survey (HEGIS) which began in 1966.

IPEDS consists of institutional-level data that can be used to describe trends in higher education at the institutional, state and/or national levels. For example, researchers can use IPEDS to analyze information on (1) enrollments of students, undergraduate, first-time freshmen, graduate and first-professional students by race-ethnicity and sex; (2) institutional revenue and expenditure patterns by source of income and type of expense; (3) salaries of full-time faculty by academic rank and tenure; (4) completions (awards) by type of program, level of award, race-ethnicity, and sex; (5) characteristics of postsecondary institutions, including tuition, room and board charges, calendar systems, etc.; (6) status of postsecondary vocational education programs; and (7) other issues of interest.

Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS)

Policy analysts, program planners, and decisionmakers in postsecondary education frequently need data on emerging issues quickly. It is not always feasible for NCES to use its large, recurring surveys to provide such data quickly due to the length of time required to implement large-scale data collection efforts. NCES has established PEQIS in 1991 to collect timely data on focused issues needed for program planning and policy development with a minimum burden on respondents. In addition to obtaining information on emerging issues quickly, PEQIS surveys are also used to assess the feasibility of developing large-scale data collection efforts on a given topic or to supplement other NCES postsecondary surveys.

PEQIS employs a standing sample (panel) of approximately 1,500 postsecondary education institutions and a panel of 51 state higher education agencies. PEQIS is currently conducting a study on vocational education.

Beginning Postsecondary Students Study (BPS)

The BPS followed first time beginning students from the NPSAS conducted in 1989-90. NPSAS:90 asked additional questions of students eligible for BPS concerning background and experiences related to completion of postsecondary education. The BPS:90/92 data further describe the experiences during, and transitions through, postsecondary education and into the labor force, as well as family formation. Transfers, persisters, stopouts/dropouts, and vocational completers were among those who completed interviews in the first follow-up conducted in 1992. In the second follow-up, conducted in 1994, many will have completed a bachelors degree as well. Base year (NPSAS:90) data and first follow-up (BPS:(90/92) are available as a single data file. New BPS cohorts will alternate with the Baccalaureate and Beyond Study in using the NPSAS as their base. The next BPS cohort will be based on NPSAS:96 with the first BPS follow-up in 1998.

The BPS survey will enhance and expand the base of information available regarding persistence, progress, and attainment from initial time of entry into postsecondary education through leaving and entering the work force. By starting with a cohort which has already entered postsecondary education, BPS is able to address issues of persistence, progress, and attainment, as well as issues related to transitions between undergraduate and graduate education and transitions between PSE and work. By following a PSE cohort (rather than a single age elementary or secondary school cohort), BPS will be able to determine to what extent, if any, students who start PSE later differ in their progress, persistence, and attainment. Because students who delay entry into PSE have different experiences prior to entry than students who enter immediately after high school, their transitions between levels of education and work may also be different.

National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)

The NPSAS is a comprehensive study that examines how students and their families pay for postsecondary education. It includes nationally representative samples of undergraduates, graduate and first-professional students; students attending public and private less-than-2-year institutions, community colleges, 4-year colleges, and major universities. Students who receive financial aid as well as those who do not receive financial aid participate in NPSAS. Comprehensive student interviews and administrative records, with exceptional detail concerning student financial aid, are available for academic years 1986-87, 1989-90, 1992-93, and 1995-96.

The study is designed to address policy questions resulting from the rapid growth of financial aid programs and the changes in financial aid program policies since 1986. NPSAS has been conducted triennially as in 1986-87; 1989-90; 1992-93, and 1995-96. The next study is scheduled for 1999-2000.

NPSAS covers a number of topics of interest to policymakers, educators, and researchers. For example, NPSAS analyzes the participation of students in financial aid programs. The goal is to identify institutional, student, and family characteristics and others related to program participation. Special population enrollment in postsecondary education is also analyzed. These populations include students with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, students taking remedial/developmental courses, students from families with low incomes, and older students.

National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS)

Beginning with an 8th grade cohort in 1988, NELS:88 provides trend data about critical transitions experienced by young people as they develop, attend school, and embark on their careers. Data were collected from students and their parents, teachers, and high school principals and from existing school records such as high school transcripts. Cognitive tests (math, science, reading, and history) were administered during the base year (1988), first follow-up (1990), and second follow-up (1992). Third follow-up data are being collected in 1994. A fourth follow-up is tentatively scheduled for 2000.

The base year of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) represents the first stage of a major longitudinal effort designed to provide trend data about critical transitions experienced by students as they leave elementary school and progress through high school and into postsecondary institutions or the work force. As such, all dropouts were retained in the study.

High School and Beyond (HS&B)

The HS&B survey describes the activities of seniors and sophomores as they progressed through high school, postsecondary education, and into the workplace. The data span 1980 through 1992 and include parent, teacher, high school transcript, student financial aid records, and college transcripts in addition to student questionnaires.

HS&B is a part of the NELS program, which was established to study the educational, vocational, and personal development of young people beginning with their elementary or high school years, and following them over time as they begin to take on adult roles and responsibilities. Thus far, the NELS program consists of three major studies: the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72), High School and Beyond (HS&B), and the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88).

National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72)

The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) is the grandmother of the longitudinal studies designed and conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. At this point in time (1993), it is probably the richest archive ever assembled on a single generation of Americans.

The NLS describes the transition of young adults from high school through postsecondary education and the workplace. The data span 1972 through 1986 and include college transcripts. Participants in the study were selected when they were seniors in high school in the spring of 1972, and in a supplementary sample drawn in 1973. The records include the "Base Year" survey; follow-up surveys in 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, and 1986; high school records; and postsecondary transcripts (collected in 1984).

Researchers have drawn on this archive since its inception. The history of the Class of '72 from its high school years through its early 30s is widely considered as the baseline against which the progress and achievements of subsequent cohorts will be measured. The principal comparisons drawn to date have been to the second in the series of NCES longitudinal studies, the High School and Beyond cohorts of 1980 (seniors and sophomores in that year). In the future, researchers will also compare these generations to the eighth graders of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.

Current Population Survey (CPS)

The CPS is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey has been conducted for more than 50 years. The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the U.S. population. The sample is scientifically selected to represent the civilian noninstitutional population. Respondents are interviewed to obtain information about the employment status of each member of the household 15 years of age and older. However, published data focus on those ages 16 and over. The sample provides estimates for the nation as a whole and serves as part of model-based estimates for individual states and other geographic areas.

Supplemental questions to produce estimates on a variety of topics including school enrollment, income, previous work experience, health, employee benefits, and work schedules are also often added to the regular CPS questionnaire.

CPS data are used by government policymakers and legislators as important indicators of our nation's economic situation and for planning and evaluating many government programs. They are also used by the press, students, academics, and the general public.

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

The SIPP is a household survey of about 8,000 housing units per month conducted by the Census Bureau. The SIPP is used to examine income sources of individuals and families, participation in entitlement programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and the correlations between these items and individual attachments to the job market over time. While the CPS measures labor force status at a single point in time, the SIPP interviews determine persons' work experiences week-by-week over the previous 4 months. Also, definitions of employment and the labor force are slightly different in the two surveys; as a result, SIPP tends to pick up fewer employed and more unemployed persons than the CPS.

The survey has been designed also to provide a broader context for analysis by adding questions on a variety of topics not covered in the core section. These questions are labeled "topical modules" and are assigned to particular interviewing waves of the survey. Topics covered by the modules include personal history, childcare, wealth, program eligibility, child support, disability, school enrollment, taxes, and annual income.

Unemployment Insurance (UI)

UI claims statistics are prepared by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor and are based on data supplied by State Employment Security Agencies (SESA's). This program provides estimates of the total number of eligible persons filing claims for benefits as well as the number of people making their initial claims for benefits. Excluded from the UI claims estimate are (a) persons who exhausted their benefits, (b) workers who do not have benefit rights (such as persons let go for cause and unemployed reentrants to the labor force), and (c) eligible workers not filing claims.

About 90 percent of U.S. workers participate in the UI program Major groups of workers excluded from UI coverage include all members of the Armed Forces and unpaid family workers, as well as elected officials in most states, and some railroad employees, domestic service workers, workers attending schools, and employees of certain small nonprofit organizations and religious organizations. While not covered by the UI program, if these workers (except members of the armed forces) were to become unemployed—that is, they were both available for and seeking work—they would be included in the CPS unemployment figures.

This page last modified August 11, 1999 (glc).

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