The 1998 High School Transcript Study provides the U.S. Department of Education and other educational policymakers with information regarding current course offerings and students' course-taking patterns in U.S. secondary schools. Similar studies were conducted in 1982, 1987, 1990, and 1994. This guide documents the procedures used to collect and summarize the data. It also provides information needed to use all publicly released data files produced by the study. In previous years, the information in this technical report was reported in two documents, the Data File User's Manual and the Technical Manual. The report contains these sections: (1) "Introduction to the High School Transcript Study"; (2) "Background: Sample Design"; (3) "Selection of Primary Sampling Units, Schools, and Students for the 1998 High School Transcript Study"; (4) "Data Collection Procedures"; (5) "Data Processing Procedures"; (6) "Weighting and Estimation of Sampling Variance"; and (7) "1998 High School Transcript Study Data Files." Fifteen appendixes provide supplemental information, including the questionnaires and the code books for the study's individual files. (Contains 32 tables, 3 figures, 15 exhibits, and 16 references.) (SLD)

Patterns and trends in the vocational-technical course taking of public high school graduates between 1982 and 1998 were examined in a study of high school transcripts for the graduating classes of 1982, 1990, 1992, 1994, and 1998. The source data came from the following five studies: (1) High School and Beyond Sophomore Cohort, First Follow-up Survey, (2) High School Transcripts Study, 1982; (3) National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, Second Follow-up Survey; (4) High School Transcript Study, 1992; and (5) High School Transcript Studies of 1990, 1994, and 1998. The analysis revealed differences in participation in vocational-technical education based on the following variables: race/ethnicity; sex; disability status; English proficiency; academic achievement; and school urbanicity and poverty level. Generally, graduates took fewer vocational courses between 1982 and 1998, although their occupational course taking was relatively steady. Graduates with disabilities as of grade 12 took more vocational and occupational course work by the end of the period studied. Asians and Pacific Islanders and high academic achievers did not exhibit the declines in vocational course taking that were observed for other groups. (Fifty-four tables/figures are included. The bibliography lists 22 references. Appendixes constituting approximately 80% of the document contain the following items: 52 standard error tables; a glossary; and technical notes and a description of the study methodology.) (MN).