This study was conducted to explore the retentive effects of vocational education and the labor market effects of vocational education and dropping out of high school. Data were gathered from the New Youth Cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Force Behavior (NLS Youth) supplemented by high school transcripts. An explanatory model of high school retention and labor market effects was developed that provided the framework for the analyses. The model included five major categories of predictive variables: individual, family, contextual, school characteristics, and high school experiences. Analyses to determine the retentive effects of vocational education focused on the high probability group of students most likely to leave high school without graduating. It was found that the more vocational education students had taken, the less likely they were to drop out of school. This relationship was significant for grades 10 and 12, but negative and insignificant for grade 11. The size of the effect, however, was small. The study also found that participation in vocational education, when combined with completion of high school, appeared to prevent some unemployment compared to the extent of unemployment experienced by dropouts. This relationship was greater for females than for males. Implications of the study included recommendations concerning possible intervention strategies, the federal leadership role, and areas in need of further research. (KC)