The Secondary School Taxonomy (SST) was developed as part of an analysis of the high school course-taking behavior of high school graduates between 1969 and 1987. Based on high school transcripts, it is intended to answer questions about secondary vocational education, such as: (1) who took vocational education and how much did they take?; (2) what was the relationship between vocational enrollment and enrollment in the academic curriculum?; (3) did patterns of participation change over time?; (4) have recent state educational reforms had a measurable effect on vocational enrollments?; and (5) have Congressional vocational education policy objectives been achieved with respect to access and equity? The SST contains four main curriculum divisions: academic, vocational, personal/other, and special education. The academic courses are divided into six main subject areas: mathematics, science, English, social studies, fine arts, and foreign languages. Within each of these categories, distinctions are made between topical concentrations, and when possible, between levels of course work. The vocational curriculum is divided into three groups by the type of preparation offered: consumer and homemaking education; general labor market preparation; and specific labor market preparation. They are arranged in seven major vocational fields by the taxonomy: agriculture and renewable resources; business; marketing; health; occupational home economics and services; trade and industrial; and technical and communications. A report preceding the taxonomy describes the overall format of the SST, outlines its development, and details the categories included in it. Appendixes include taxonomies for four other data sets: the National Assessment of Educational Progess; High School and Beyond (1982); National Longitudinal Survey Youth Cohort (1975-82); and the Educational Testing Service's Study of Academic Prediction and Growth (1969). (KC)