The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) is a survey that began with a nationally representative sample of 1988 8th-graders and surveyed them every 2 years until 1994 and again in 2000.⁷ Respondents’ teachers and schools were also surveyed in 1988, 1990, and 1992, while parents were surveyed in 1988 and 1992. In contrast to previous longitudinal studies, NELS:88 began with 8th-graders in order to collect data regarding the transition from elementary to secondary education. For the purpose of providing a comparison group to 1980 sophomores surveyed in one High School and Beyond Institutional Study (HS&B), the NELS:88 sample was also “freshened” with new participants who were 10th-graders in 1990. The sample was also “freshened” in order to create a representative sample of 1992 seniors for the purpose of conducting trend analyses with the 1972 and 1982 senior classes (NLS-72 and HS&B).

In spring 1992, when most of the NELS:88 samples were 12th-graders, the second follow-up took place. This survey focused on the transition from high school to both the labor force and postsecondary education. Students identified as dropouts in the first follow-up were also resurveyed in 1992. In the spring of 1994 and 2000, the third and fourth follow-up surveys were administered and provide data on students’ postsecondary persistence and attainment. The 2000 follow-up included over 12,000 completed cases with a weighted response rate of 82.71. The weight used for the analysis of data from the NELS:88/00 was WTN00, which includes students who entered postsecondary education.