The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) provides information about factors that influence student academic performance and social development. This report describes the experiences of spring 1992 seniors, focusing on their school environments, course-taking and tested achievement, postsecondary plans and occupational goals, and outside-of-school experiences. The typical senior was enrolled in a college preparatory program. Nine of 10 seniors demonstrated basic proficiency in reading and mathematics, but somewhat fewer demonstrated basic proficiency in science. Three-quarters of all seniors planned on continuing their educations beyond high school, and over half expected to hold a professional occupation. Over a quarter of all seniors were from racial and ethnic minority groups. Students generally reported that the quality of education in their schools was good, that their teachers were interested in their students, and that grading was fair. About half of all students worked in addition to going to school. Students participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, but reported a great deal of television viewing. Thirty-three tables and 18 figures present survey data. Eight appendixes contain supplemental information, including 13 tables of standard errors and sample sizes. Appendix H contains abstracts of analytical documents related to the survey. (SLD)