This study used data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 to examine factors influencing the educational and occupational attainment of American women. The longitudinal study followed 2,160 seniors from 1,200 schools for 14 years after high school graduation. A variation of the Wisconsin model, which examined influences on male educational and occupational attainment, was used. The study found that educational attainment was the strongest predictor of occupational attainment. Unlike the Wisconsin model, it found that academic performance was primarily a function of ability; socioeconomic status (SES) was negative and small relative to ability. Like the Wisconsin model, this study found academic achievement and SES had the strongest effects on significant others' influence. Unlike the Wisconsin model, significant others' influence had no direct effect on occupational aspiration for this sample. The primary influence on educational attainment was educational aspiration and gender. SES had a more powerful effect on educational attainment than on occupational attainment. Marital status had no influence on educational or occupational attainment, although number of children had a negative effect on educational attainment; this effect was equal for both sexes. (Contains 34 references.) (DB)