California's school-to-career (STC) efforts were examined in a statewide evaluation study that was initiated in December 2000 and scheduled for completion by June 2002. The study's first phase was assessed in an interim report that focused on the following major activities: (1) development of a white paper describing the STC's national and state status; (2) development of a statewide evaluation plan; (3) implementation of a statewide survey of employers and labor organizations involved in local STC activities; (4) establishment of working relationships with existing STC statewide committees and formation of a practitioners' panel to advise the statewide evaluation effort; and (5) provision of assistance to the state in developing the local partnership (LP) case studies request for proposals and evaluation of the case studies proposals submitted by LPs. The highlights and lessons learned from each activity were summarized, and the insights gained during the interim evaluation were used to shape thinking about the final evaluation report's structure and format and the following issues related to the methodology to be used in phase 2 of the study: (1) maximizing and documenting response rates; (2) applying common definitions to variables of interest; (3) implications of sampling for analysis across LPs, and (4) identifying the appropriate unit of analysis and reporting. (MN)