A total of 2,370 students from four different regions of the United States participated in a study to explore the educational and vocational perceptions and expectations of disadvantaged junior high school students. One school serving primarily disadvantaged students and one serving nondisadvantaged students from each of the four school districts with enrollments ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 students participated in the study. A sample of students who could read at fifth grade level or higher completed a series of inventories which measured their perceptions and expectations toward school, work, family, peers, and self. Additional information was collected relating to disadvantagement, personal plans and background, the community and the school. Major findings were: (1) Socioeconomic disadvantagement is relevant to the community context, (2) The differences between disadvantaged and nondisadvantaged students did not appear as frequently as might have been expected, (3) Educational aspirations of disadvantaged students were generally lower than those of nondisadvantaged students, and (4) Disadvantaged students reported giving more thought to school plans and future jobs, viewed teachers in a more favorable light, and reported that school was easier. The data appears in 20 appendixes. A 49-item reference list is cited. (DM)