A study was conducted to provide descriptive information about dropout rates by various subgroups, their reported reasons for dropping out, and some activities after leaving school. As part of the longitudinal study, High School and Beyond, the National Center for Education Statistics surveyed 30,000 sophomore and 28,000 senior high school students in 1980 from a representative sample of 1,015 schools; then the center recontacted 12,200 of the seniors and all of the sophomores who remained in their same schools in 1982. The survey also included about 50 percent of those sophomores who had left the schools they attended in 1980, including dropouts, transfers, and early graduates. Response rates were very high, amounting to about 90 percent. Dropouts were identified and asked to complete a questionnaire inquiring about their reasons for dropping out, their plans, and their activities after leaving school. Some of the findings were the following: (1) about 14 percent of high school sophomores of 1980 left school during or after their sophomore year before completing requirements for graduation; (2) by the spring of 1982, many of these dropouts (more than 27 percent) were unemployed or dissatisfied with their work and were looking for work; (3) the majority of those who worked full- or part-time were engaged in low-skilled jobs; (4) most of the dropouts regretted their decision to leave school prematurely; (5) reasons for dropping out included dislike of or expulsion from school, desire to work full-time, or plans to get married, and (6) students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The survey authors surmised that knowledge of these findings may help school administrators to devise plans to curtail dropping out. (KC)