The hypothesis of this study is that education will free an individual to move from one social stratum to another. The population studied consisted of a selected sample of 357 graduates of the 1976 class of Tupelo High School in Mississippi. A personal interview using a 19 question form was conducted with each member of the class. A detailed study of each pupil's high school records was completed. If the student had entered college, a transcript of the first year's college work was obtained. If the student was employed, his or her immediate supervisor was asked to fill out a standard from indicating the graduate's performance on the job. The study shows that the high school experience does not necessarily free the student from the effect of family placement in class structure. There is a high similarity between the class of family and choice of postgraduate activity of the Tupelo High School graduates of the class of 1976. Nearly 72% of the activities entered into by the sample students will lead them back to the same social class as that of their family. Based on this study the authors accept Lawrence A. Cremin's statement that "social mobility is more likely to be dominated by family influences than by those generated in any educational institution." (Author/RM)