The Technical Panel on 12th Grade Preparedness Research, convened by the Governing Board, consists of seven members with expertise in a variety of measurement and policy areas related to preparedness. The purpose of the Panel was to assist the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) in planning research and validity studies that will enable the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to report on the preparedness of 12th graders for postsecondary education and job training after they graduate from high school. The first round of studies will be conducted before and during the 2009 NAEP 12th grade assessments of reading and mathematics, and the Board plans to begin this new type of reporting with these NAEP 2009 results, scheduled for release in 2010. The Panel's deliberative process engaged each Panel member's expertise to refine ideas; gather supplementary materials; convene representatives of testing companies and partner organizations; and review the advantages and disadvantages of various sources of data. At each step in the process, the Technical Panel considered a range of alternatives and feasibility issues and then made choices to advance to the next point in deliberations. The panel was chaired by Michael Kirst, Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration at Stanford University. Panel members comprised: (1) John Campbell; (2) David T. Conley; (3) Michael Kane; (4) Mark David Milliron; (5) Robert Mislevy; and (6) George C. Thornton, III. Appendices include: (1) List of Panel Meetings and Objectives; (2) Guiding Principles for Preparedness; (3) Considerations for Terms Related to Preparedness; (4) Timelines For Completing the Studies; (5) Recommended Studies for 2009 NAEP 12th Grade Preparedness Reporting; and (6) Summary Report on Recommendations of Expert Content Alignment Group. (Contains 10 figures and 5 endnotes.)