The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis and evaluation of composite variables in the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) and School and Staffing Survey (SASS) in a way that provides guidance to the staff of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the more effective use of survey resources. The study provides ways of understanding the contributions made by individual survey items through an appraisal of the contributions they make to composite measures of which they are a part. It also shows how composite variables may provide more reliable measures of the concepts of interest than do individual survey items, and how they permit the more effective summarization and communication of survey results. The composite variables examined include: (1) self-concept and locus of control; (2) socioeconomic status; and (3) school climate. Additional variables designated by NCES and variables found to be of interest during the course of the study were also analyzed. The guiding question was whether a particular variable contributed to or detracted from the efficacy of a composite variable. The strategy followed in the study used several factor analyses followed by calculation of reliability and validity estimates on a given composite variable. While the field costs of surveys have escalated, the computer has made analysis comparatively quick and cheap, making it cost effective to conduct a variety of analyses of survey items and their composites. A summary of the analyses is included. (SLD)