Cognitive Test Battery
The test questions were selected from previous assessments: NELS:88, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (see NAEP chapter),
and Program for International Student Assessment (see
PISA chapter). Most, but not all, were multiple choice items. Test specifications
for ELS:2002 were adapted from frameworks used for NELS:88. Math tests contained
items in arithmetic, algebra, geometry, data/probability, and advanced topics were
divided into process categories of skill/knowledge, understanding/ comprehension,
and problem solving. Through inclusion of items from the PISA, the ELS:2002 math
tests placed a somewhat greater emphasis on practical applications and problem solving
than did the NELS:88 test forms. Reading tests consisted of reading passages of
one paragraph to one page in length, followed by three to six questions based on
each passage. The reading passages included literary material as well as topics
in the natural and social sciences. Several passages required interpretation of
graphs. Questions were categorized as reproduction of detail, comprehension, or
inference/evaluation.
Cohort
A cohort is a group of individuals who have a
statistical factor in common; for example, year of birth, grade in school, or year
of high school graduation. ELS:2002 is a sophomore-grade cohort based on the spring
term of the 2001–02 school year. It also contains, however, a nationally representative
sample of high school seniors in the spring term of the 2003–04 school year.
Socioeconomic Status (SES)
A composite variable is constructed through the combination of two or more variables—socioeconomic status, for example,
combines mother’s education, father’s education, mother’s occupation, father’s occupation,
and family income or an income proxy (household items) or it is calculated through
the application of a mathematical function or transformation to a variable (e.g.,
conversion of raw test scores to percentile ranks).
Dropout
Dropouts were defined in ELS:2002 as sample members
who had been absent from school for 4 or more consecutive weeks at the time of the
survey and who were not absent due to accident or illness.
Early Graduate
Early graduates were defined as sample
members who had graduated
from high school or obtained certification of high school
equivalency (e.g., obtained a GED credential) on or
before March 15, 2004.