High School Learning, Vocational Tracking, and What Then? Contractor Report.

Overview & Synopsis

The National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 collected data on the backgrounds, experiences, attitudes, and plans of 16,683 students who were high school seniors at 1,044 schools in 1972. In addition, three followup studies focused on the work experiences, education and training, military service, family status, life experiences, and opinions of these respondents as of 1973, 1974, and 1976. After analyzing those data from the survey pertaining to vocational education, researchers arrived at a number of conclusions. Included among these were the following: (1) race, sex, and academic performance are key factors for selection of vocational education programs, with minority students, poor achievers, and females being the most frequent enrollees in vocational education; (2) because vocational education funds are allocated by local enrollment and program costs rather than by program enrollment, vocational education resources and services are diffused far beyond those enrolled in vocational education; (3) those in vocational programs work 40 percent more than do those in non-vocational programs; (4) far fewer vocational-track students receive postsecondary schooling than do academic-track students; and (5) high school coursework and work hours related strongly post-secondary work hours and wage rates. (MN)