This report reviews activities of a research project having the following objectives: identify selected personal characteristics of Iowa vocational agriculture students; determine how important students thought their vocational agriculture supervised occupation experience (SOE) was in developing occupational abilities; and determine how important students thought selected factors were in developing their SOE. The list of thirty-eight occupational abilities studied are presented, as well as a list of eighteen factors studied. A twenty-eight-page review of literature is presented first, followed by a description of the methodology for sampling, data collection (three-part questionnaire administered to a statewide sample of 300 senior high school students), and analysis of data. Findings are outlined in three sections: (1) personal characteristics of students in terms of types of SOE of students, occupational plans, educational plans, home locations of students, and years of vocational agriculture; (2) importance of developing occupational abilities; and (3) importance of factors in developing SOE. Sections 2 and 3 describe data analysis in terms of last type of SOE, occupational plans, educational plans, and home location. Conclusions are presented and recommendations include the following: The type of occupational abilities a student desires to develop should be considered in developing an SOE program, and instructors should include in their program of study instruction on selecting, planning, and conducting SOE for beginning vocational agriculture students. (BL)