NELS:88 Dropout Sample: Student Reasons and Plans by Demographics

A 1990 analysis of students who were in eighth grade in 1988 but not enrolled in school by 1990. The study found differences in dropout reasons and plans to resume education based on race-ethnicity and gender. It was authored by Will J. Jordan and references data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.

Use Cases

• Modeling dropout causality based on cited school-related, job-related, and family-related factors.
• Analyzing demographic disparities in educational plans, such as equivalency tests versus returning to high school.
• Investigating the relationship between disciplinary actions (suspension/expulsion) and dropout rates among different racial-ethnic groups.

Strengths

• Analysis is based on a specific longitudinal study sample (NELS:88).
• Findings detail differences by race-ethnicity and gender for both dropout reasons and future plans.
• The study methodology is documented with six tables and 18 references.

Limitations

• The underlying dataset is not directly accessible; only the study analysis is presented.
• Row count and column-level documentation for the raw data are unknown.
• Data is from 1990, which may limit contemporary relevance.

Provenance

Source

National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88)

Collection Method

Survey data collected in Spring 1990 from a dropout sample.

Time Range

Primary data collection in 1990, tracking students from 1988.

Geography

United States