High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09)

2. USES OF DATA

Adolescence is a time of psychological and physical changes. Attitudes, aspirations, and expectations are sensitive to the stimuli that adolescents experience, and environments influence the process of choosing among opportunities available to individuals. Parents, educators, and policymakers all have a shared interest in better understanding how guidance from school and home can be consequential for the educational, occupational, and social success of youth. HSLS:09 examines both the individual and contextual characteristics important to the transitions associated with these successes during later adolescence and early adulthood.

Major areas that HSLS:09 attempts to cover include the following:

• academic, social, and interpersonal growth;
• transitions from high school to postsecondary education, and from school to work;
• students’ choices about, access to, and persistence in math and science courses, majors, and careers;
• the characteristics of high schools and postsecondary institutions and their impact on student outcomes;
• baccalaureate and subbaccalaureate attainment; 
• family formation, including marriage and family development, and how prior experiences inside and outside of the school setting relate to decisions about family formation, and how marital and parental status affect educational choice, persistence, and attainment; and 
• the contexts of education, including how historically disasdvantaged racial/ethnic group membership and at–risk status are associated with education and labor market outcomes.