The Los Angeles Unified School District has chosen the class of 2000, comprised of those students who enrolled in kindergarten in 1987 and who will graduate from high school in June 2000, for concentrated educational focus and detailed evaluation. A three-class cohort, which includes the class of 2000 and the classes that immediately precede and follow it, will be studied until each class graduates. A preliminary profile of the class of 2000 includes the following characteristics: (1) the ethnic composition of the class of 2000 is similar to that of the classes that started the year before and the year after; (2) nearly two-thirds (63.7 percent) of the students are Hispanic American, 15 percent of the students are Black, 14.2 percent of the students are White, and 4.9 percent of the students are Asian American; (3) approximately 40 percent of the students are limited English proficient; (4) kindergarten and grade 1 students had a notably lower retention rate than the previous year; and (5) comparisons of the academic achievement of the class of 2000 with the comparison classes reveal no clear trends. Future reports will include information about a wide range of educational indicators as they become available and relevant. Statistical data are presented in five tables. A list of 24 references is appended. (FMW)