This brief report presents findings regarding two types of transitions experienced by students as they move between the eighth and 10th grades: continuing or dropping out of school and transferring between sectors. While 98% of public school students remained in public schools, over one-third of Catholic school eighth graders and over 25% of National Association of Independent Schools students transferred to public or other private schools. About 6% of all eighth graders were classified as dropouts by spring of their scheduled 10th-grade year. For most students, the move between eighth and 10th grades involves a change of schools and exposure to new educational settings. These transitions may have an impact on student learning and personal development. Consequently, differences in transition patterns and possible outcomes are of major interest. Data were obtained from the base year and first follow-up surveys of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), which began in 1988 with a sample of 1,052 schools and 24,599 eighth graders. In the spring of 1990, 17,424 students were studied in the first follow-up to determine their education status and progress, and school, community, and work experiences. Four tables present study data, and five graphs illustrate trends from 1988 to 1990. (SLD)