In recent years, concern over students dropping out of school has increased. A primary focus is the size of the dropout population, a question that has been addressed in two National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) longitudinal studies. Both studies provide the data needed to consider the dropout experiences between the sophomore and senior years of two groups of students a decade apart in time. Over the 10 years between the 1980-82 High School and Beyond survey (HS&B) and the 1990-92 data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) (follow-ups), there was a 43 percent reduction in the percent of sophomores who dropped out of school. The NELS:88 rate for the sophomore cohort of 1990 is 6.2 percent. Relative rankings for racial and ethnic groups did not change over the decade, and in both cohorts the dropout rates for Hispanics were higher than those for Whites and Asians. Rates for Blacks were between those of Hispanic Americans and Whites. In both periods, failure in school and dislike for school were major factors leading students to drop out of school. Pregnancy and marriage were important factors influencing females' decisions to leave school early. Three figures illustrate the discussion. (SLD)