A special study pertaining to the career and occupational development knowledge of 17-year-olds, both in and out of school, was conducted for the Department of Labor by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. For the 49 cognitive items measured, performance percentages were up on two items, about the same as in previous assessments on 18 items, and down on 29. For the eight experiential items being reassessed, performance was about the same on five items and was down on the other three. Performance on attitudinal items increased on four, remained stable on ten, and declined on four. Results are reported for various subgroups of interest, such as: regions, the sexes, racial/ethnic groups, different types of communities, reading achievement quartiles, and several work experience categories. Respondents who reported being employed on a regular, occasional or part-time basis did significantly better on the job-knowledge items than the nation as a whole, while unemployed teens or full-time workers were below the nation. The report also provides group results for each individual item assessed, and gives changes in performance percentages from previous assessments. Primary type of information provided by this report: Results (Special Analyses) (Selective). (Author/BW)