This report describes the growth in cognitive skills and achievement, and the continuities and discontinuities experienced in school and at home by the eighth-grade cohort of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) during the 2 years between the study's base year (1988) and the first-followup (1990) surveys. The report examines school change in view of the almost universally experienced transition to high school, with findings about patterns of school transition and changes in students' perceptions of safety and overall learning environment. Major changes in home life and family are also outlined. Finally, the report examines the tested achievement of the cohort by exploring gains and the content areas in which they occurred. By the followup, about 6% of the students were no longer in school, and half reported that they left simply because they did not like school. In terms of simple achievement gains, students gained in all four subject categories of science, mathematics, social studies, and reading comprehension, although gain patterns were complex. Data from NELS:88 and its followups are a rich source of information for policy makers and education practitioners. Four appendixes discuss standard errors, research methodology, an overview of the program, and an annotated bibliography of 30 NELS:88 publications. (Contains 14 tables, 40 figures, and 70 references.) (Author/SLD)