The eight reports brought together here were based on data collected for the base year of the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. Minor but systematic biases were present in the data since certain schools and students did not participate in the study. The accumulative effects of bias emphasize the need for care in analysis and interpretation. The class of 3 million persons consisted of about 82 percent white, nine and one-half percent black. About half of the white students were enrolled in academic curricula, compared to a quarter of the black students. Close to half of the black students were enrolled in general curricula, compared to 29 percent of all white students. In a set of six tests, females slightly outperformed males, academic students outperformed other students, and blacks scored about a standard deviation below whites. The socioeconomic status (SES) of academic students was higher than general students who had a slightly higher SES than that of vocational/technical students. Blacks had lower SES than whites. Students in federal programs scored higher than others in the same curriculum who did not participate in federal programs. Significant differences were seen regarding exposures of various students to various special teaching techniques. About one-third of the sample may face a financial barrier to continued education. Remedial instruction was more frequently provided to blacks than to whites, to general and vocational students than to academic students, and to more males than to females. (RC)